Acceptance is Key
by writing4thewolves
Summary: Imprinting is supposed to be magical. It's supposed to be the best thing that happens in a werewolf's life. My imprinting experience was everything it was not supposed to be. But how could it be, considering my imprint tried to kill me before he realized I was his alleged soul mate? My name is Elissa Black. I was born into a family of werewolves and vampires. This is my story.
1. Chapter 1 - Rain, Rain, & More Rain

It was raining.

The windshield wipers were moving at an alarming rate, trying their best to clear the front window. "Raining" was actually an understatement; it was more of a torrential downpour. Big, fat drops of water covered everything. My father steered our large, black SUV through the tiny town, formally known as _Forks_, extremely carefully due to the highly slippery road conditions. The rain acted as sleet, in a way that made the tarmac extremely slick. But other than that, our vehicle was completely silent and I relished in the abnormality of it.

I watched out the window, trying to see past the rain to what _Forks_ actually looked like. We had only been in the rainiest place in the continental US for around a half hour and despite the rain, I could easily tell that the small town wasn't made up of much. It was quaint to say the least; the population was just over 3,000 residents.

I sat askew on the tan leather seat, gripping my half-read novel in my hand like a lifeline. My dark black hair was matted and unruly, arranged into a large messy bun on the very top of my head. I rubbed a hand across my face wearily, trying to ignore the fact that my eyelids kept fluttering shut every few minutes. I was beyond tired.

Much to my own distaste, we had just left our old home in Alaska. After about thirty hours of straight travel time, we were almost to our _new_ home in _La Push_; a small reservation, just a half hour away from Forks.

We moved around a lot. From the time I was born, I had lived in fourteen different houses in twelve different cities. But, when my parents had sat me down last week and told me we were moving sixty-seven hours away from the only family I had ever known, I had cried for two days straight and had locked myself in my room.

I had no desire to leave the familiarity of our home in chilly Fairbanks, Denali. Words couldn't describe how desperately I would miss my mother's relatives. I had lived with them from the day I was born; where we went, they went. And vice versa; _except_ for this time.

I couldn't generate any sort of explanation in my mind to _why_ my parents had all of a sudden decided to pack up from our perfect life and start over. I didn't understand _why_ they felt the need to change everything, especially when our family was so much different than all the others in the first place. We were the freaks among the freaks. And I wasn't sure I could handle too much change all at once; it was extremely overwhelming.

My father, on the other hand, was beyond ecstatic about moving to La Push. I couldn't blame him really; he had been born and raised there, living on the reservation until he had met my mother. I knew how much he missed his family and his friends; it was visible on his face quite frequently. But I also knew that he gave all that up to start a family with my mother.

And, it was easily the most romantic story I had ever heard.

You see, I was born into a family of werewolves and vampires. Not your average life story, but I, myself, couldn't imagine it any other way. My father was one of the most popular werewolves in the history of La Push. He was the reigning Alpha of the current pack, as well as the Chief of the entire tribe. He was a living legend, no doubt. He had also imprinted on my mother the day she was born.

I had heard the story of _imprinting_ more than once and each time, it seemed more and more magical. Imprinting was when a wolf met their soul mate for the first time. It was when gravity shifted and no longer held them to Earth; their imprint took over that job. A wolf would do anything for their imprint. They would be anything their imprint needed them to be; no questions asked.

I was honestly sure it was the most romantic and beautiful thing I had ever heard of.

My mother was half-vampire, half-human living with her family of pure vampires. They had to move around a lot, to remain inconspicuous, since they didn't age. With imprinting, it's impossible for either person to live without the other—without being in serious mental and physical pain—so my father made the decision to leave his life in La Push behind and begin anew with my mother and her family.

Obviously, that was how my brothers and I came to exist.

My two brothers and I couldn't be more genetically different. They directly took after my father. They had inherited my father's shape-shifter gene, but unlike other werewolves, also received the immortality of a vampire. So, they were deemed half-werewolf, half-vampire. I, on the other hand, had taken after my mother. I was just like her; half-human, half-vampire. No one was really sure how much of the werewolf gene I had received, if any of at all.

Often enough, I felt like because of that fact, I had let my father down. It was impossible for me to carry on the werewolf gene in the future, unless I became romantically involved with someone who carried the gene, themself. I wasn't ashamed of whom I was, but I couldn't help but feel bad about it. I didn't want to disappoint him. And it bothered me, a lot.

"How much longer are we going to be?"

I jumped at the loudness and harshness of my sixteen-year-old brother's voice. He was sitting directly behind me. I could feel his warm breath on the top of my head as he spoke.

"We should only be 'bout five to ten more minutes, JJ. Just depends on the traffic and this damn rain," Dad answered in his soft voice.

A warm hand brushed at my hair.

"How are you holding up, baby sis?" JJ whispered in my ear.

JJ stood for Jacob Junior—after my father. He was tall and muscular with dark messy, short hair and beautiful brown eyes. He was the splitting image of my father when he had been sixteen; or so everyone told JJ many times before. But unlike him and my father, the only resemblance JJ and I shared was our matching hair colour.

Despite his temperamental attitude and constant mood swings—territory that comes with being a werewolf—JJ was a typical overprotective and overbearing big brother. He was often too protective and sometimes it got on my nerves. However, I couldn't find it in my heart to ever get annoyed at him. I knew he was only acting that way because he cared so much.

Only when I remembered that I hadn't provided him with a verbal answer did I meet his eyes briefly. "I'm okay," I mumbled under my breath.

The one thing I couldn't stand about my immortal family was our lack of privacy. If something was going on with you, everyone else knew about it too. Between all the mind readers and empaths, there was no such thing as secrets. You couldn't even have a civil conversation without someone eavesdropping due to their unnatural, oversensitive hearing.

As if to prove my point, my mother turned around to face us, her bronze curls bouncing as she did so. "Are you feeling unwell, sweetheart?" she asked with concern.

I tried not to sigh. "No, Mama," I mumbled quietly. "I—I'm just tired of being in the car."

I winced inwardly at the sound of my voice. No one was going to let that excuse fly when I spoke in such a monotone. But, I didn't want to delve into the fact that I had absolute _no_ desire to move to La Push. There was no way, whatsoever, that I could say that to my parents' faces. No matter how I felt, I wanted my parents to be happy.

_Exactly_, I said to myself. _So shut up and deal with it._

Dad met my eyes through the rear-view mirror. "We shouldn't be more than five more minutes, darling," he promised earnestly. "Sam's house is just around this bend."

My eyes widened at his response. I had forgotten about that. In honour of us moving to La Push, half the tribe decided to throw some extravagant event at the Uleys' home. So, not only were we not going to see our new house until later, but we also had to go and mingle with people that we barely knew, at a party that we hadn't wanted to go to. Well, at least I didn't want to go. And, judging by the sour expression on JJ's face, he shared my opinion.

"Are you sure this party is such a good idea?" I asked gently.

Mom reached back to squeeze my hand. "Everything will be fine, honey. There's no need to worry."

But, I was worried. I was a vampire that was about to go into a house full of werewolves. Werewolves hated vampires and the La Push pack was no exception to that. They were trained from day one to kill any vampire in sight. How did I know they wouldn't try to kill me just because my father was part of the tribe? How could they be so sure?

JJ mussed my hair. "I got your back, kid," he murmured.

His reassurance did nothing to calm my nerves and when Dad pulled the SUV up behind a sorry-looking red pickup truck; my heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest.

"Elissa, wake your brother, please," Mom instructed.

My eyes immediately trained onto the figure slumped beside me.

My twin brother had turned himself into a pretzel as he slept soundlessly in the seat next to me. His head was resting on the edge of the car door, his curly black hair untidy and wild. His red-framed glasses sat askew on his skinny nose. And despite his unusual position, his face displayed complete ease. We often joked that he was a cat; he adorned the ability to sleep wherever, in whatever position he fell into.

I flicked his foot that rested on my lap. "Bronnie," I murmured softly.

Silence.

I waited a moment before unclicking my seatbelt. Then, I reached across and pushed my finger into his cheek, poking him. "Bronson, wake up."

He groaned loudly. "Was that _really_ necessary, Liss?"

"We're here," was all I managed to say.

Bronson was immediately alert. He sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily before fixating his glasses back onto his nose properly. Then, his blue-black eyes turned to me, scrutinizing my appearance carefully.

"You're upset," he murmured.

My twin brother's overprotective nature put JJ's to shame. He could read me like a book and often enough, knew how I was feeling before I knew myself. He was my rock; I wasn't sure what I would do if I hadn't had him.

"I'm not," I denied. My fingers picked at the edge of my turquoise t-shirt.

"Elissa," Bronson sighed, reaching to place his hand on my shoulder. I flinched out of his reach.

"Please, don't," I whispered. "I'm barely holding it together as it is and…and if you do that, I won't be able to."

"Okay," he said softly.

I reached over to open the car door. Taking a deep breath, I said, "Let's just get this over with."

The Uleys had a nice house. It was white brick with black shutters. It was two storeys high, though you could almost tell that it hadn't originally been so. Little framework imperfections gave away the fact that the second floor had been added to the original structure. Of course, no one with normal vision would be able to tell, and it was sturdy enough. There were little flower-boxes that hung beneath each window, filled with every colour of flower beyond imaginable. The mixture of the scents burned my nostrils, but it was pretty to look at. They even had a porch swing. Several cars lined the edge of the green grass and gravel driveway.

Mom, Dad and JJ were waiting for us at the gate of the backyard. Once we joined them, Dad focused on my brothers and me intently.

"Now, kids, you have to understand that this is going to be weird to a lot of people here tonight," Dad said gently. "A lot of these kids don't understand our family. They're going to feel uncomfortable around you. That doesn't mean that you should feel uncomfortable around them. Tonight is a little bit like a trial run," he explained. "But, I want you to have fun and be on your best behaviour."

"Okay, Dad," Bronson agreed.

"Sure," JJ muttered, leaning against the wood fence beside him. He crossed his arms unhappily.

"Elissa, I want you to stay close to one of your brothers tonight," Dad instructed. "And I want you to come find me right away if you have any problems. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," I mumbled.

Dad frowned, before leaning down to hug me softly. "Everything will be fine."

The beach-side backyard was full of life. Patio lights and paper lanterns lined the entire property. Huge, long wood sticks stuck out of the sand as fire burned at the top, acting as more light sources. A drift-wood fire burned on the sandy white beach. Subtle music flowed from a sound-system on the patio, which was connected to the back of the house.

Immediately, my parents were bombarded with people. Dad laughed as one of his friends picked him up off the ground momentarily. My mother was hugged by several women, including a lady with scars stretched across the one side of her face. My brothers and I stood back slightly; watching the scene unfold before us and feeling as out of place as ever.

"We're really glad you're back, Jake," a very tall man said, grinning at my father.

As the crowd around my parents dispersed, they started introducing my brothers and I to everyone. I met Sam Uley—the tall man who had greeted Dad—and his wife Emily, who was beyond beautiful despite the scars that adorned the side of her face. As well, Kim and Jared Thail, Seth Clearwater and his wife, Bridget, all of which who were very friendly and welcoming; much to my surprise. There were a few others that hadn't arrived yet, according to my father that we would meet later on in the night.

"Hey kids," Dad said, beckoning us towards him. "I'd like you to meet your Aunt Rachel and your Uncle Paul."

I smiled shyly at the couple and my brothers muttered their hellos. Paul was very tall, well built, and overall, just really intimidating. He didn't smile and stood silently. Rachel, on the other hand, was bubbly and talked as if she had known us longer than five minutes.

It was hard to hide my surprise; I hadn't been aware of the fact that my father had a sister. Before my parents had decided to move to La Push, they didn't talk about the people in my father's old life. I had asked before, curious of the history of my father's family, but the topic had just made him silent and upset, so I had never brought it up again. But, now I knew why; it would have been hard to leave a sister behind.

"God, Ness, she's just a splitting image of you, isn't she?" Rachel said to Mom.

I blushed, looking at the ground.

"I should introduce you kids to your cousins," Rachel exclaimed. She turned around and searched the crowded yard. "Anderson, you come here right now," she yelled.

As my eyes followed to watch a boy about my age come jogging towards his mother without a second thought, I realized that it was probably not a smart idea to say no to Rachel. She seemed to be a pretty level-headed person and easily in control of her husband and children.

"What's up, Mom?" Anderson asked, coming to a stop at his father's side.

Anderson looked a lot like his father. He had shaggy, dark brown hair that fell into his eyes. He was tall—so tall that I had to look up just to see his face. His brown eyes studied my brothers, his face expressionless. When his eyes turned to me, I felt myself hold my breath. It occurred to me then how _badly_ I wanted to be accepted by all of these people.

"Andy," Rachel said, squeezing her son against her side. "These are your cousins JJ, Bronson, and Elissa."

Andy's face broke into a broad smile; a genuine smile. "Finally," he said with a laugh. "All these years of knowing your names but never being able to put them to faces; nice to meet you guys!"

I had to keep my mouth from dropping open. He was being…_nice_? It was hard to believe that people were actually excited to meet us. I figured most people would be put off by our family immediately; especially because of me.

"Can we leave you to introduce them to everyone else?" Rachel asked.

Andy nodded enthusiastically.

A hand clamped down on my shoulder and hot breath tickled my ear. "Remember what I said," Dad advised me.

I nodded, trying to relieve myself from my nerves. Dad's worries certainly weren't making it any easier and I found myself strangely more at ease as I watched my mother and father follow Rachel and Paul across the yard to where the rest of the adults were convened.

"Are your parents a little nervous?" Andy asked me.

I blushed, realizing he had heard my father lecture me. But it was JJ that answered. "We weren't really sure how welcome everyone would be," JJ explained with a shrug. "With Liss being, well—"

"A vampire," Andy interrupted.

Bronson casually threw an arm around my shoulders.

"Well, yeah," JJ said lamely.

We all stood in silence for a moment, unsure of what to say. I knew I had no say in what genes I had inherited from my parents, but for some strange reason I felt the need to apologize. But, Andy threw a curveball in that theory.

"Honestly," he said. "Let me be the first to say—"

I felt like I was choking on air. My own cousin was about to admit his hatred for me. My finger nails bit into my palms as I waited for him to finish his sentence.

"—that I don't give a shit," he finished.

This time I couldn't stop my mouth from flopping open like a fish. "You don't?" My voice was quiet, afraid. I didn't like it.

Andy smiled, shrugging one shoulder. "You're family," he explained sincerely. "I mean, you could be blue with three arms and I'd probably still feel the same way. I've always wanted a little sister to protect and since I never got one, you seem like a pretty decent substitute to me."

I swallowed a lump in my throat. "T-thank you," I whispered.

Bronson squeezed me closer, his eyes portraying the "I told you so" that he never said out loud.

"So," Andy said, clearing his throat. "Want to meet the rest of the gang?"

**Thanks for reading, please review! :)**


	2. Chapter 2 - Not So Welcome After All

I sat down with a sigh on a big rock just away from the edge of the cliffs. I drew my feet up underneath me, resting my chin on the top of my knees. It was early morning, nearly six, and the waves at First Beach were extremely calming. I shivered at the coldness radiating from the misty air coming off the water, but I didn't bother to move. I needed sometime alone to think and this seemed to be the only place where I could do so.

After the bonfire had ended last night, I had gone straight to bed in our new home. But after hours on hours of tossing and turning—and listening to my brothers snoring from across the hall—I had given up on sleep. I wrote a quick note to my parents at the kitchen table and had silently crept out my bedroom window. And after my long, hard hour run through the leafy forest, I had found myself back where I had started: First Beach.

I wasn't sure what it was about this place, but I found it alarmingly soothing. The sound of the waves crashing at the shore and against the rough grainy side of the tall, rocky cliffs could probably put me to sleep if I let it.

I thought back to last night. It had gone a lot smoother than I had expected it to. This wasn't really saying much considering I had expected a blood bath between my brothers and the other wolves. But, Andy had been so welcoming. He acted as it didn't matter that my brothers and I were different, new, and socially awkward. He had called us _family_.

We had met _so_ many people last night, that even I had a hard time remembering the names of everyone. Andy had introduced us to his older brother Taylor, who was a splitting image of Paul. He seemed as genuine as his younger brother, but a little stand-offish. Then, we had met Jared and Kim's sons, Connor, Kevin and Avery, Seth's daughter, Anna, who was only two, and Sam's youngest sons, Alex and Mitchell.

I had felt overwhelmed when Andy had explained that we would meet "the rest of everyone" at another time. He had explained that Embry Call, his wife, Rebecca—my father's other sister—and their son, Jeremy, were out of town for the evening, but would be back today. He also said that a lot of the other kids our age were on evening patrol—for _vampires_.

That revelation had made me feel slightly sick to my stomach, but I tried to let it seep to the back of my brain for a later period to worry over. Despite being highly nervous and uncomfortable around everyone, I had actually had an alright time. We had sat around the fire and listened to the banter back and forth between the teenage boys and JJ had joined in on a game of beach football.

All, and all, it had been a good start to our new future in La Push. I just hoped it continued in the same direction.

I picked up a ragged-looking stone beside me and carefully molded it between my palms until it was a smooth pebble. With a quick flick of my wrist, I sent the stone spiralling into the water, smirking in satisfaction as it skipped over the surface several times.

I had only stopped listening to my surroundings for merely a moment, when a dark shadow appeared in front of me.

"You have a lot of nerve pretending like you actually belong here," a deep voice said.

I flinched and sat up straighter as I watched a tall, muscular figure appear out from behind the cliffs. I watched him, his bare feet splashed roughly in the water as he walked towards me. His fists were clenched at his sides and he wore only a pair of cut-off shorts. I could hear how loud he was breathing, sense how angry he was, and I didn't dare look at his face.

"Hey, Leech," he yelled, even though he was standing only a few feet away. "I said, what the hell do you think you're doing here?"

I hopped to my feet, staring at the ground as tears of embarrassment leaked into the corner of my eyes. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I was here last night and I thought—"

A hard hand grabbed my wrist and threw me against the side of the cliff, the one suspended right above the water. I fell against the hard wall with a wince, trying to ignore the pain coming from my ankle.

"_Your kind_ isn't allowed here," he sneered, coming closer. "And I'm going to remind you that."

Before I could blink and begin to protect myself, he grabbed a hold of the end of my ponytail and with one fast jerk, bashed my hand against the edge of the cliff. I cried out in pain, doubling over as he kicked me in the ribs.

"Please," I begged, wheezing.

But as he kicked at me again, I clued in. He had no idea _who _I was. I didn't recognize his voice from the fire, though I couldn't see his face. He hadn't met _me_; to him, I was a vampire, a threat to the people he loved.

_He didn't know_.

I tried to explain, to tell him, but he flung me against the wall again, and I screamed as my arm snapped. I fell to my knees, trying to keep him in the corner of my eye despite the horrendous pain I was enduring. He was shaking; his body trembled in fury.

"I'm going to—"

"Noah!" a voice shouted from down the beach. "Noah, _wait_!"

The boy before me froze, his body turning slightly in the direction of the voice. I took his distraction to my advantage and clutched my arm to chest, biting my lip until I tasted blood to keep from crying out.

Footsteps pounded against the sand as they came closer. The person who approached us was panting heavily, like he had run a long way. I watched nervously as he approached, trying to desperately figure out how I could possibly take them both on, when I was seriously crippled and broken on a ledge above the now rough water. I risked a glance down and instantly regretted it as I became dizzy. I was evidently trapped in this position, because escaping over the edge of the cliffs wouldn't work to my advantage; I _couldn't_ swim.

The other boy approached us; he too, unfamiliar to me. He took one look at Noah and then his eyes dragged over to my bruised, battered figure and his eyes widened.

Then, he went crazy.

"_Noah_," he cried. "What did you _do_?"

And then, he punched him in the face. The sound echoed off the rocks and I found myself cowering even more.

_I'm going to die_.

My attacker—Noah, threw his arms up in the air at the other boy, his face wild with fury. "She's a fucking blood-sucker, Jeremy," he exclaimed. "She was just sitting there, like she fucking owned the place and I—"

The other boy—Jeremy—growled. "You _idiot_," he hissed.

I started to hyperventilate as Jeremy slowly walked towards me. I glanced around frantically, desperate to find something to protect myself with. I found nothing and pressed myself even further up against the wall of the rocks.

_I'm definitely going to die_.

"What are you _doing_?" Noah cried in disbelief.

Jeremy ignored him. When he reached me, he slowly sat down a few feet away from me, his eyes soft and his movements exaggerated; as if to not scare me even more.

"Elissa," he murmured.

I started to cry. "_Please_ don't hurt me," I blubbered uncontrollably. "_I'm sorry_."

He inched another foot closer. "Shh, honey," he soothed. "I won't hurt you, I promise."

I froze and cradled my arm to myself. I wasn't sure if I could believe him.

"Jeremy," Noah said again. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Jeremy's eyes never left mine as he spoke. "Listen," he ordered. "If you had even paid a single _second_ of attention before you began your attack on this innocent little girl, you would have realized that, yes, she is _half_ vampire, but she also has _a fucking heartbeat_."

Noah froze in his spot. "She," he stammered. "She has _what_?"

He moved an inch closer. "Noah," Jeremy's voice was incredibly quiet, soft. "This is my cousin, Elissa Black; Jacob Black's daughter."

My eyes bounced to Jeremy's face and my shoulders slumped in relief. _Thank God_, he had shown up because if he hadn't, I would have ceased to exist. Obviously it was completely rotten way to get to know my other blood-related cousin, but words couldn't describe how happy I was that he had been here.

Noah, on the other hand, seemed to be at a loss for words. He seemed to be numb, as he stood staring at me in utter shock. I forced myself to meet his gaze, studying his handsome face and short, spikey black hair until I finally found his bright green eyes.

And the world…stopped.

I couldn't stop staring at him. Suddenly, my head was consumed of thoughts about his eyes, his name—everything about him. I felt hot and cold at the same time, and unbelievably sick to my stomach.

Then, it went away. And, so did Noah. He tore off down the path, his clothes ripping away as he morphed from tall, teenage boy, to humongous teenage wolf, before disappearing into a section of forest.

I sat there, dizzy and unmoving.

What in the _world_ had just happened?

Jeremy was on his feet instantly, cell phone pressed to ear. "You need to go get Noah, _now_," he muttered into the phone as soon as the other person answered. "No, I'm serious," he snapped, before letting out a defeated sigh. "Because he just fucking beat the shit out of Elissa Black and then imprinted on her."

I felt like something was crushing me. I couldn't breathe. Did Jeremy just say that the boy who had nearly killed me had _imprinted _on me? It wasn't true; it couldn't be! It wasn't supposed to happen like that! He was supposed to love me; not beat me to a pulp.

I started to cry all over again.

Jeremy looked back at me in concern. "Look, I have to go," he snapped. "I'm taking her to Sam's, he's the closest. Just meet us there."

I tried to stand up, but my legs gave out and I once again became a crumpled heap on cliff.

"Elissa," Jeremy whispered. "I know how terrified and confused you must be right now, honey. But, please, _please_, let me help you."

I shook my head and tried to move away, but I had no room to move. "I don't need your help."

He kneeled down in front of me. "I'd never do anything to hurt you," he told me. "But you're really hurt and my dad, Embry Call, you know him, he's a doctor. He's going to meet us at Uncle Sam's."

_Uncle Sam_—he must have meant Sam Uley. It sounded odd to hear out of someone's mouth. I didn't know how to take it. Was that what everyone called him? I knew Sam and Embry weren't related, which meant he wasn't Jeremy's real uncle. Was that what _I_ was supposed to call him? I felt so utterly confused.

"Please, Elissa," Jeremy begged. "Let me just carry you—the house is just over there." He pointed to the right. "And then, if you want, I promise to never touch you again. Okay?"

I studied him, trying to think past the horrendous pain I was enduring. He seemed genuine—he saved me from becoming a half-vampire jigsaw puzzle. But, I was scared. There was no way I could ever defend anyone off with the way I was now. I could barely hold myself upright.

_He's your cousin_, the voice inside my mind told me. _He's a blood relative, trust him_.

Against my better instincts, I let out a shuttering sigh. "Okay," I whispered. "Thank you."

He hopped to his feet right away. "I'll be really careful not to jostle you too much," he said.

But, much to my dismay, when he gently lifted me into his incredibly warm, strong arms, the pain was stronger than ever. I whimpered and fresh tears streamed down my cheeks. I wiped them away with my good hand.

A pair of lips pressed against the crown of my head. "I'm so sorry," he murmured.

The last thing I remembered was Jeremy's desperate plea for me to stay awake and the brightness of the porch lights of the Uleys' house.

Then, there was nothing but complete, blissful darkness.

**Please Review! :)**


	3. Chapter 3 - Pain and Confusion

I woke up in an unfamiliar room. It was dark—someone had drawn the curtains over the large window to keep out the sunlight I could see glowing through the cracks. I tried to sit up, a little unsure if I should be worried about where I was, but all I did was flop back onto the cushy mattress in a painful mess. I lay there, trying to get a sense of what had happened.

Then, it all came back to me in one huge sweep. And I started to hyperventilate.

The door to the room flung open and I screamed, painfully righting myself in order to provide myself with some sort of protection. Warm arms folded me into an embrace and I struggled, desperate to get away. My pleading cries were the only sound.

"Shhh, Lissy," a soothing, familiar voice murmured. "You're safe, baby."

"No," I cried, pushing at his chest.

His hold only became tighter. A warm hand brushed my hair away from my bruised face. "Calm down, baby sis," he pleaded. "I love you so much, please calm down."

There was only one person in the world that called me that. It seemed to be the only thing that registered in my brain. I stopped struggling, my body going limp in exhaustion; the familiar, comforting scent of my big brother keeping me from going absolutely insane.

I clutched his red t-shirt in my fist, crying into his chest. "I'm sorry," I wailed.

JJ's hand rubbed soothing circles on my shoulder blades. He pulled me into his lap, leaning back against the large, queen sized headboard. He pressed his face into my hair. "You have nothing to apologize for," he whispered softly.

My chest burned and I struggled to get a deep breath. "JJ," I cried.

My brother pulled back to look into my eyes, his face abnormally serious. His brown eyes penetrated mine, his breathing soft and relaxed. I forced myself to focus on him, willing myself to calm the hell down before I passed out again. Slowly, slowly, I began to breathe normal again.

"You're safe," JJ repeated. "I'll never let anything hurt you again."

I brushed the leftover tears from my swollen cheeks. The movement hurt, but I was desperate to ignore it. "It was my own fault," I said, voicing my thoughts without meaning to.

JJ's grip became tight on my wrists. "How can you think that?" he nearly shouted. "How can you even _say_ that?"

I let my eyes fall to the purple bedspread beneath us. "I shouldn't have wandered off alone in unfamiliar territory."

The look of disbelief on my brother's face said it all. "Elissa," he hissed angrily. "As true as that may be, you have _every fucking right_ to go out and not have to worry about being attacked because of _who you are_. And the fact that you were, just means that—"

A sharp knock at the door interrupted his rant. I looked up to see my father standing there with Embry Call. Both of which were staring intently at my brother, worry coating their faces.

"JJ, why don't you step outside while Embry does his examination," Dad suggested, his tone like ice.

My brother took a deep breath and opened his mouth to retaliate, but one hard look from our father forced him to think otherwise. He carefully moved me off him, before he got off the bed. He pressed a soft kiss to my temple, smoothing my hair back before he stomped out of the room.

I heard the sound of a screen door slamming and I flinched. Tears pricked my eyes.

Dad moved away from the door and in an instant, I was in his careful embrace. "Shh, sweetheart," he whispered.

What was wrong with me? Why was I crying so much?

"Daddy," I whispered, hiding my face in his sweatshirt-clad chest. I was embarrassed to show this much weakness in front of Embry.

"I love you, baby," Dad murmured, brushing my hair back from my face. His own eyes were filled with sadness.

"I'm sorry," I said again, my voice hoarse from crying so much.

Dad shushed me once more, stepping back slightly. "None of that," he soothed. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"But—"

Embry cleared his throat suddenly, sending my father a meaningful look as he moved away from the wall. He flicked on the switch for the overhead light as he did so and I winced at the unexpected pain in my head from the brightness. Watching me carefully, Embry sat down in front of me on the bed. He held my hands gently.

"Hi honey," he said. His voice was like Jeremy's; soothing, reliable. "I'm your Uncle Embry. Can you tell me how you're feeling?"

I hesitated and he noticed. His eyes trained to my father. "Jake, can I talk to her alone?"

"No," I cried, my eyes wild with fear.

Dad smoothed my hair again. "I'll stand right outside the door, baby," he promised. "Uncle Embry won't hurt you, honey."

He smiled encouragingly at me, before shutting the bedroom door behind him.

My eyes were immediately downcast and my heart rate picked up. I was so nervous, and that fact alone unsettled me.

Embry's hand appeared under my chin, gently lifting my face so I was looking at him. "You don't have anything to be afraid of," he murmured. "Your father is one of my best friends and I would _never_ do anything to hurt my one and only niece."

And for some reason, I believed him. "Alright," I said.

He took that as my consent to begin his examination. Reaching into his bag behind me, he kept one of his hands on mine, his thumb rubbing calming circles on the top of it, while the other pointed a light into my eyes. I winced.

"Follow the light with your eyes, honey," he instructed, as his eyes were on my face. I did as I was told, despite how bright the light felt.

"Good," he said gently. He turned the light off and turned to reach into his bag again. "You know, Jeremy is pretty worried about you," he told me, his back turned to me.

I played with the edge of my borrowed pajama pants with one hand. "But, he barely knows me."

Embry was silent for a moment, before he looked back at me. "He knows you well enough to know that you're his cousin and that you were badly hurt by one of his friends."

I focused on keeping myself calm. "It was nice of him to help me," I whispered.

He didn't respond. Instead, his hands prodded my back and my ribs, watching my face for any discomfort. I worked on keeping the emotion off my face and was successfully doing so, until he reached the lower right section of my ribs.

"Ouch," I whimpered, flinching away.

"Sorry baby," he murmured. "You've got some broken ribs, there."

My eyes watered and I focused them on anything but him. It was then I realized that my one ankle was covered by hard, white plaster and my left wrist was in a similar state. With all my tension and fear, I had completely missed the fact that I had no movement in either of those body parts. Who breaks _two_ bones on their second day of living in a new town?

Embry followed my glance in response to my silence. He pursed his lips.

I sighed deeply. "Please just tell me," I said.

"Alright," he agreed. "You have a mild concussion, a broken nose, two broken ribs, a fractured ankle and a very badly broken wrist."

I gaped at him. "But, but I'm practically immortal," I cried. "Why is it that I'm not healing?"

"You're immortality is not related to your healing rate," Embry said. "You may be part vampire, but, Elissa, your broken bones aren't going to heal overnight. Obviously, you won't have your casts for the regular four to eight weeks, but that doesn't mean you aren't going to be in a lot of pain for a few weeks. You heal at the same right that any of the boys do, werewolf or not."

"How do you know that?" I asked. Grandpa Carlisle had never told me that; though, granted, I had never had so many injuries at once before.

Embry sighed, standing up. "Because even though I'm a doctor now, I've seen my fair share of werewolves get the shit kicked out of them," he told me. "And although you don't shift into a wolf, your father and brothers do."

I brushed my fingertips across my neck, reeling in the bumpiness I felt there. Embry's eyes were sympathetic. "The bruising will be gone in about a week," he soothed.

"That's a week too long," I whispered.

Embry smiled, before opening the door. "Put that out of your mind for now," he suggested. "Why don't you come downstairs and show everyone that you're still in one piece? They've been pretty worried."

I bit my lip nervously.

"You'll be fine," he promised.

And that was how I found myself sitting in a cocoon of blankets on the Uleys' baby blue loveseat that adorned the one wall of their living room. My whole body stretched across the small couch; my foot propped up high on a few pillows to keep it elevated. I should have felt comfortable, I should have been relaxed; but I wasn't. And, I couldn't figure out _why_.

"Hey, you're alive!"

I looked up to see Andy burst through the front door—without knocking. He kicked off his shoes, absentminded, before crossing the room in half a dozen strides to where I sat. His eyes studied my face and his smile disappeared.

"I can't believe—" he began, shaking his head. "I'll kill him."

He turned to go, his body trembling. I looked around frantically, trying to find someone to knock some sense into him, but we were alone. My parents, the Uleys, Embry, and several others had gone into the kitchen the moment he had arrived. With quick, irrational thinking, I reached out and caught his hand.

"Don't," I said.

Andy stopped, his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline as he looked at me. I held his gaze until the tremors in his body stopped and then I ripped my hand from his, looking away. What in the world was I doing? I barely knew this boy; I had no right to tell him what to do.

The end of the couch by my feet dipped down as he sat there. He didn't say anything; his eyes glued to the ground and his hands clasped together tightly. Then, he looked at me, his eyes rimmed red.

"I," he began, shaking his head. "_We_—we weren't sure if you were alive or not. When Dad got the call last night, God, I was so scared."

Surprise coloured my face. "Why were you scared?" I asked.

One of his warm hands intertwined with my casted one. "Because," he said, laughing a little. "I just met you last night. I thought my chances of ever getting to know you would be gone."

"You want to get to know me?" I whispered.

He tilted my chin up so I was looking at him. "I meant what I said last night," he told me. "I don't care how you're genetically made; you're my cousin. And, now that I know how much of a danger magnet you _really_ are, I'm going to stick to you like glue."

I laughed—a real, actual laugh.

Andy's eyes were playful. "You think I'm joking," he said. "But I'm not. Consider me your personal bodyguard for, I don't know, probably the rest of your life."

It was so weird, interacting with someone outside of my immediate family and feeling so comfortable doing so. From the moment I had met Andy, he had made me feel comfortable with who I was. He made me feel like I belonged; something a lot of people were afraid to do. And I didn't know what to say about it. So, I said, "Thank you."

Andy leaned back on the couch, pulling my heavy foot onto his lap. "Enough mushiness," he complained. "We should go do something. _Hey_, I could show you around La Push!"

I raised my eyebrows. "Um, as much as I appreciate that offer, I'm sort of confined to this house until further notice." It was Andy's turn to look surprised. "My parents' version of grounding," I explained. "I didn't tell anyone where I was going last night, and you know, I'm kind of…_crippled_."

He laughed. "Grounded on your second day of La Push," he chuckled. "I've never heard that one before."

I pushed his chest in faux-annoyance. "Get used to it."

**Thanks for the reviews! Keep it up :)**


	4. Chapter 4 - Breakfast with Wolves

**Happy New Year everyone! I'd thought I'd post a new chapter to celebrate. Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday! Love all the reviews I'm getting! Glad everyone is enjoying this so much! :)**

* * *

"Why are we having them over again?" JJ asked.

Mom turned around from the stove, spatula in hand. "Because, JJ," she explained with a sigh. "Everyone's been so hospitable and welcoming these past couple of days, I figured it was our turn to return the favour."

"Not everyone," JJ muttered under his breath, casting a glance in my direction.

Mom heard him, of course. She spun around again, her expression slightly more than unimpressed. "Since you're so opinionated this morning, JJ, why don't you make yourself _useful_ and get the plates from the cupboard and set them around the dining table, please?"

I giggled under my breath at my brother's lack of enthusiasm. He got up from his stool, sticking his tongue out childishly at my mother's back. My laughter became stronger at this and he advanced towards me, his eyebrows raised. "You think that's funny?" he asked.

I gasped in pain as he reached over and tickled me, resulting in my sore, nearly healed ribs to contract painfully. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he continued his torture, and soon I was doing both. I clutched the counter top in support, all the while trying to push him away with my other hand. It proved to be difficult, as I had little control over the hand enclosed in the cast.

A wooden spoon came down on the top of JJ's head. "JJ, you leave your sister alone, right now," my mother ordered. "She is in no position for you to be tickling her like that and unless you want dish duty for a week, I suggest you go get the plates like I asked."

JJ rolled his eyes, but walked away from me. He grabbed a massive pile of plates and headed out of the kitchen. He paused in the doorway, glancing back at me. "I'll get you," he promised, his eyes twinkling.

Behind my mother's back, I flipped him off.

"JJ, dishes, _now_," Mom yelled.

My brother disappeared from the kitchen, his laughter resounding through the walls of the house. I loved when my family acted this way; like a normal family would on a Saturday morning. It was a known fact that my eldest brother got a kick out of pushing my mother's buttons and it was always amusing to watch. He always seemed to forget the fact that my mother always seemed to get him back just as good.

Footsteps pounded down the grand staircase and in a moment, Bronson was in the kitchen. He pulled me into a strong hug, resting his chin on the top of my head as he held me. I leaned against him, closing my eyes.

"Morning," I said.

My twin brother kissed the top of my head. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

While everyone had stopped bringing up the incident that had happened two days ago, Bronson was having a hard time letting it go. He had been ordered to stay at our house while I had spent the night at the Uleys'; he had been too emotionally unstable for it to be safe for me to be around him. He was severely upset about the whole thing and no matter how many times I assured him that I was okay and that it had all been a complete misunderstanding, he wouldn't let it go.

"I'm fine," I assured him, pulling out of his embrace.

He sat down next to me, his eyes wide behind his glasses. "Did you take your pain meds?"

"Yes."

"Are you—?"

I sighed, loudly. "Aren't you supposed to be helping Dad set up the chairs out back?"

"Yes, but—"

I shot him a look. "Then go," I told him.

"Elissa," Bronson protested, reaching for me.

"_No_," I said. "I am perfectly fine without you hovering over me like some mother hen, Bronson. So please, _don't_."

I hated fighting with him, but this was starting to become ridiculous. I understood _why_ he was so worried, but there was no need to walk on egg shells around me. I wasn't going to break into a million pieces if someone looked at me. I was half_ vampire_, for goodness sakes. He needed to start remembering that.

"Whatever," he said, storming out of the room.

The screen door to the backyard opened and then slammed shut and I cringed. I took a deep breath, shaking my head. I wasn't going to let his moodiness ruin my morning. After all, he was a territorial, teenage werewolf.

"He's just worried about you," Mom said over the sound of sizzling bacon.

I sighed. "Well, he doesn't need to be."

Mom placed the cooked bacon on a big plate, before coming over and hugging me softly. "Cut him some slack," she said. "He comes from a line of genes where worrying over your family members tends to mess with your good sense."

Dad decided that it was the perfect moment to join us then. He kissed Mom's cheek, subtly tossing some bacon into his mouth. He swallowed, before turning his attention to me. "How are you feeling, baby?" he asked.

"_Ugh_," I shouted.

I hopped off my stool, keeping all the weight on my good foot, before storming out of the room the best I could with a hugely noticeable limp. After falling on my face so many times I had lost count, thanks to my _stupid_ crutches, Uncle Embry had upgraded me to a chunky black walking cast. Though, he made me swear to take it easy. I caved; anything was better than having to use crutches. At least I could move around the house freely on my own…sort of.

I slammed my bedroom door behind me. I wasn't really mad; my parents knew this. But, I needed some space. Everyone had been so careful around me in the last couple days. I was so _sick_ of them asking how I was feeling. Because, truth be told; I didn't know how to answer.

I mean, how was I _supposed_ to be feeling? How were you supposed to feel after your imprint, your soul mate, the person you were supposed to love for the rest of your life, had tried to kill you? I wasn't sure. And I wasn't sure that there was anyone who could tell me either.

With a sigh, I walked over to my unnecessarily massive closet. Despite it being the end of August, the weather was surprisingly cool. With the constant drizzle of rain that seemed to exist outside, I decided on a pair of black cropped yoga pants and a soft pink t-shirt. I had a hard time putting on clothing that wasn't loose, due to all my injuries. And with all the nervousness I was feeling with having so many people over at our house, I decided comfortable clothes were allowed.

I brushed my hair, leaving it down and wavy in hopes of covering up some bruising I still had. My navy blue eyes were surrounded by swirls of black and purple, courtesy of my swollen nose. Much to my dismay, I couldn't put any makeup on without wanting to claw my eyes out, so I would have to go all natural today.

As I glanced at myself in the mirror, I felt gross. My face was swollen and my skin was pale. My long, mid-back length hair did little to help hiding the miscolouring of my skin. It was no wonder everyone was acting so weird; I looked like _hell_.

"Sure, Mom," I grumbled under my breath, glaring at my reflection. "Invite everyone over while I look like I got ran over by a truck. That's just a _fantastic_ idea."

"You know, talking to yourself is a sign of insanity."

I jumped.

Standing in the doorway of my bedroom was none other than Noah Uley. My breath caught in my throat and my hair brush fell onto the linoleum floor of my ensuite bathroom. I didn't know what to do. What was he doing here? How did he think this was okay?

"Well, maybe I am insane," I said. My voice was painfully quiet, but the sound of it had me cringing.

He laughed softly; it was a beautiful sound. "Aren't we all?" he whispered.

I picked up my hairbrush, putting it away, before I closed the bathroom door. My arms wrapped around my stomach nervously. My walking cast felt unbelievably heavy and loud. Noah's gaze seemed glued to it as I moved around my room, fiddling with stuff nervously.

"Your mom sent me up," he explained suddenly. "To see if you needed a hand."

"I don't," I replied, without even meaning to. I regretted the words as soon as I said them.

But, Noah didn't leave. Instead, he focused his attention on my room, looking around at everything. He didn't move from the doorframe; his hand clutching the wood so tightly I was scared he would snap it in half.

I allowed myself to study him. As much as I didn't want to admit it to myself, he was unbelievably attractive. The way his short hair stood up in random directions, but still managed to look as if he had spent an hour in front of the mirror to get it to look that way; maybe he had. His bright green eyes lit up the whole room. He wore a shirt this time and the black material made his tanned skin stand out more than ever. God, he was so beautiful.

But, as I looked at him closer, I realized that he too, looked absolutely exhausted. There were bags underneath his eyes and his skin seemed to stick to his cheekbones more tightly. His hands twitched constantly.

I was glad he didn't move from the doorway. I was scared of him; scared he would hurt me again. I didn't know how to act around him. I didn't know what to say. So I just stood there, leaning against the bottom of my canopy bed.

He sighed, finally meeting my gaze. He took a deep breath, before he moved into my room a little. His eyes were on my face the whole time, calculating my reaction to his close proximity. When he sat down crossed legged on the area rug right in front of me, I had stopped breathing completely.

He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry," he said.

I stood completely still for a moment before I allowed myself to meet his gaze. "I'm not mad at you," I told him truthfully.

Noah's eyes shined with victory. "You aren't?"

No, I wasn't angry at him. He hadn't injured me knowing that I was his imprint, but knowing that I was a vampire. I knew I should have been mad at him, but I wasn't.

Scared of him? Yes, I was definitely terrified of him.

"No, I'm not," I answered.

He stood up eagerly. "Well, that's great."

I took a measurable step away from him. My eyes met the hardwood floor beneath my feet. "But, I am scared of you."

He sighed. "I deserve that, I guess."

"Yeah, you do."

I spun around quickly to see Taylor standing in the door way. He was shirtless—no surprise there—and his arms were crossed tightly across his chest. He was glaring at Noah.

I hadn't spoken much with Andy's older brother since I had met him that night at the bonfire. He was quiet around me, but he always seemed to be there. The only other time we had seen each other was when he had come over to Sam and Emily's the afternoon following the accident. He had taken one look at me and had started to shake and growl so badly that I had started to cry. In my defense, I had been doped up on a lot of pain medication and wasn't in control of my emotions. In the end, Jared's oldest son, Connor—who I had later found out was the Alpha of the entire pack—had dragged him out of the living room and into the backyard just in time for him to phase.

"You aren't supposed to be up here," Taylor hissed.

Noah tensed. "Nessie told me I could come up and—"

"That's _not_ what I'm talking about and you know it," Taylor said.

I crossed my arms. "If you want to have a private conversation, don't let me stop you," I snapped. "But you could do it somewhere _besides_ my bedroom."

Taylor looked me up and down, his expression softened slightly. Then it changed as he looked back at Noah. "Perfect idea," he said. "_Let's go, Noah_."

I thought that he was going to protest, but to my surprise, his shoulders slumped in defeat. He followed Taylor out of my room with his head hung down sullenly. He paused in front of my door, looking back at me. "I'll see you later, okay?"

I nodded, tight-lipped. I waited for him to follow Taylor down the stairs and out the back door of my house. When I heard the door shut behind them, I flopped back onto my bed in exhaustion.

_What am I going to do with him?_

**Keep on reviewing! Thanks :)**


	5. Chapter 5 - Too Old for a Babysitter

I was stretched out across our oversized, brown sectional couch. My foot was propped up on a big pillow, still swollen and painful despite the fact that the accident had happened five days ago. It also meant that I had been officially living in La Push for six days. It was scary to think about how fast time was going by; and so far, it hadn't been passing by all that pleasantly either.

I had been attempting to watch some movie on our big screen TV for over an hour, but my mind was much too cluttered with other things to focus on what was playing in front of me. I couldn't even recall what the plot line of the movie was. I was much too distracted.

I couldn't stop thinking about breakfast the other morning. It had proven to be extremely awkward, especially since Noah and Taylor hadn't returned after they had left so abruptly. Not to mention, it had mostly just been the adults talking and catching up with each other, while us kids just sat there, pushing our food around our plates. We didn't really know each other enough to start a conversation without feeling uncomfortable. I hadn't really been in the mood to talk with anyone anyhow; I was much too confused.

"Elissa, can you come here for a moment please, honey?"

I followed the sound of my mother's voice into the kitchen. My parents were sitting at the island on a pair of stools with a pile of paperwork in front of them. Mom looked rather distracted, while Dad was fully concentrated on the papers in front of them. He was even wearing his reading glasses, something that only happened on rare occasion.

They both looked up as I approached them. It wasn't like I could sneak up on anyone; my walking cast provided everyone with enough heads up to when I was coming. I smiled gently at my parents, before sitting down at a stool opposite them.

Dad watched me carefully for a moment, his eyes looking me over. I knew he was concerned about what happened. I supposed that he had every right to be worried, but I didn't like him watching me like I was going to have a mental breakdown at any moment.

"What's going on?" I asked, trying to get his attention _off_ me.

It worked. Dad straightened up in his seat, a smile gracing his handsome face. "Your mother and I have to go to Seattle tonight for a business meeting."

I leaned my arms on the countertop, resting my head on them. This sounded like it was going to be a long explanation. I wasn't sure if I was going to like where it was leading to. "What for?" I asked cautiously.

Mom reached across the counter to brush some hair from my face. "Your father is opening up a car garage in La Push," she explained. "We have to go to Seattle to get the building grant and finalize a couple details before we can start scouting locations."

I had to bite my lip from pointing out that there weren't too many locations to scout through, since La Push was so damn tiny. But by the look of the seriousness on my mother's face, and the excitement on my father's, I decided they wouldn't find the joke as funny as I thought it was.

"That's really awesome, Dad," I told him, forcing a genuine smile onto my face. "I'm really excited for you." And I was—for as long as I could remember, Dad had wanted to open his own garage.

Dad smiled back at me, but it didn't reach his eyes. I studied his face. He looked hesitant about something—something that they weren't sure they wanted to tell me.

"There's more isn't there?" I asked quietly.

Mom sighed. "Well, yes," she admitted. "You see, tonight is the night your brothers are doing their first patrol with the rest of the pack."

I froze, sitting up ramrod-straight. I hadn't been aware that my brothers would be joining the already-large La Push pack in their nightly patrol for vampires. It seemed sort of redundant due to the fact that they, themselves, carried at least _part_ of my mother's vampirism, not to mention their own sister held even _more_ of that significant gene. It was almost as if they would be hunting themselves. It seemed ridiculous. I didn't want them to be part of that; they could get hurt.

_Or worse_, a voice nagged at the back of mind.

"They can't…they can't do that," I cried desperately.

My mother's face sagged with sadness. "Sweetheart," she murmured. "It's important for your brothers to feel like they are a part of something here. Patrolling is an important feature to a werewolf's job. They need to learn how to work with the pack and protect the tribe if any…threats come this way. Your father patrolled when he was their age, too."

Tears threatened at the corners of my eyes. "They don't need to be part of that," I snapped. "They're perfectly capable of protecting people without doing…_that_."

Dad's warm hand reached out to hold mine. "Honey," he soothed. "Nothing is going to happen to them. Connor is going to be with them to show them the ropes and they won't go out too far off the perimeter. They'll be perfectly fine."

I refused to meet his gaze. "Can I be excused now?"

"Actually, sweetie, there's one more thing we need to discuss with you," Mom said.

My eyes widened. Was this supposed to be some sort of punishment? Tell Elissa so many things at once that her brain will rot from consuming it all? What else could they possibly need to tell me after _that_?

Dad cleared his throat uncomfortably, his hand tightening around mine. "The thing is," he began. "With your mother and I being a couple of hours away tonight and your brothers being virtually impossible to reach if you have a problem…"

I felt all the emotions escape from my face. I was going to throw an absolute fit if they even hinted at what I thought they were going to say. I held my breath, waiting for him to finish.

"…we don't feel comfortable leaving you here by yourself, especially in the condition you're in."

"So, _what_," I asked, my voice steely. "You hired a _babysitter_ or something?"

"No," Dad said, his voice slightly stern in response. "But we have arranged for you to spend the night at the Uleys' house."

I ripped my hand out of his, standing up and moving away from the counter. "You did _what_?!" I cried, feeling betrayed. "How could you do this? It's bad _enough_ that you don't trust me to stay home by myself, for whatever ridiculous reason. But to send me to _his_ house without any say on my part?! That's just unfair."

I hurried out of the room, embarrassed by the way I had just yelled at my parents and because of the tears that were full out streaming down my face. I had almost made it to the stairs when JJ appeared in the hallway. His eyes were wide and he had obviously just heard me screaming my guts out. I tried to brush past him, but he grabbed my wrist, keeping me from getting past.

"Lissy, honey," he murmured.

I pushed at his chest and he let me go out of surprise. "Don't touch me," I cried.

When he didn't say anything back, and I felt the tears blur my vision even more, I hurried as quickly as I could up the stairs. I burst into my room and slammed my door behind me, before practically catapulting myself onto my bed. My sobs were loud and echoed in the new-found silence as I soaked my pillow with my tears.

My brothers were being trained to hunt vampires. That fact alone was enough to mess with my mind completely. What if they got so into protecting the tribe that their instinct to protect overpowered their good sense? Would they feel the need to start hunting _me_? I mean, I didn't need blood to survive, but on the occasion back in Denali, I would join my aunts and uncles to hunt. Would my brothers start to hate me? Would they attack me like Noah had? Noah, himself, was another problem. He had nearly _killed_ me. He was enough proof that if the wolves let their instinct take over that I was portrayed at a threat. And now, I was being forced to spend the night at his house, because my parents didn't trust me.

It was definitely too much to handle all at once. But one thing was for sure; I was _not_ going to allow my family to treat me like an invalid. I was perfectly capable of staying home alone. And I _would_; I didn't need a _babysitter_.

But, later that night, despite my _loudly_ voiced protests, I found myself sitting stiffly in the passenger seat of the SUV as my father drove me over to the Uleys'. My mother had packed me a bag—since I had refused to do it myself—and it sat by my feet. I focused all my attention on the darkness outside the window, refusing to look or talk to my father the entire ride.

When he pulled up to the familiar house, he had to park on the road to avoid all the cars that were already in the driveway. He unclipped his seatbelt silently and turned off the ignition, before he turned to look at me.

"Elissa," he murmured softly. His hand stroked my swollen cheek that faced him. "Honey, look at me for a moment."

I bit my lip, closing my eyes, before I forcefully turned my body to face him. Shame filled my eyes; I shouldn't have talked to my parents the way I had.

His calloused thumb rubbed the skin under my eyes. "I'm not mad at you, honey," he said.

I sighed. "You're not?"

"No," he promised earnestly. "How could I be mad? You had every right to act the way that you did. You've been through a lot lately. It's precisely why your mother and I don't want you to spend tonight alone. We only want what's best for you, baby, you know that."

I cast a worried glance at the house in front of us. "But, Dad," I whispered. "Why here? Why couldn't I have stayed with Aunt Rachel or Uncle Embry? Or anyone else besides the Uleys?"

Dad sighed. "Well to start off, based on the cars parked in the driveway, your Uncle Paul is here right now, so that puts them out of the equation," he teased, before turning serious again. "But, honey, it's important for imprints to work out their differences. You and Noah have had a particularly rough start and it's going to take a lot before you two can fully begin to understand one another."

I opened my mouth to protest, not wanting to hear this lecture, but he held up his hand.

"Let me finish," he said. "And as much as I want to beat the shit out of that stupid kid for not only hurting you, but for imprinting on you, it's important that you develop a relationship with him. Now, that does _not_ mean, that said relationship doesn't have to be any more than _friends_. In fact, no dating at all until you have turned forty."

I laughed, slapping his arm lightly. "Dad," I protested.

He grinned, winking at me. "Sweetheart," he murmured. "I know that what happened has scared you. _No one_ blames you for how you feel about it. But, honey, I want you to be completely protected your whole life. And with your mother and I being out of town and your brothers being otherwise preoccupied tonight, I have no doubt in my mind that if there were to be any troubles tonight, that you would be completely and utterly safe here. And that puts me at a slight ease."

I let out a deep sigh. When he put it like that, there was no way I could be mad at him. What he had just rambled out was completely dramatic and drawn out, but I knew it was simply because he was my father and that he was worried for me. So right then and there, I decided that I had to stop being a brat about staying at the Uleys'. I didn't have to like it, but I didn't have to tell anyone that I felt that way, either.

Without another word, Dad hopped out of the car. He stopped and waited for me to follow him. When I reached his side, he grabbed my bag from me and placed it in his left hand, before wrapping his right arm around me in support. When we reached the front door, he let go of me to knock twice and then he swung the door open without waiting for a response. I sent him a puzzled look, but he just smiled and ushered me forward with his hand.

It was very loud inside the house, yet somehow, Sam had managed to hear us knock at the door above it all. He appeared in the foyer just as I had kicked my shoes off next to the other ones by the door. I couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated by him; he was just so tall and stern looking. I didn't know how to take him.

"Hey you guys," Sam said with a grin.

Dad reached around me to shake his hand eagerly. "Thanks for doing this Sam. Ness and I will have a lot easier time figuring this stuff out knowing she'll be in good hands."

I blushed at his revelation.

Sam smiled warmly at me. "You know she's always welcome, Jacob," he told him. "And we'll be sure to give you a call if anything happens."

Dad nodded, before turning to look at me. "You have your cell phone in your bag?"

"Yes," I whispered. "Mom told me she put it in there."

"Okay," Dad murmured. He reached down to hug me tightly, placing a kiss on the top of my head. "You be good, alright? Your mother and I will be by to get you sometime tomorrow afternoon"

"Sure," I mumbled into his chest. "I love you."

His large hand mussed my hair teasingly as he stepped away from me. "Love you too, honey." He looked back at Sam, who I hadn't realized was still standing there, as he grabbed the door knob. "Thanks again, Sam."

I watched as he left, shutting the door softly behind him and hurrying down the porch steps to the truck. Within a matter of seconds, he was backing out of the driveway and heading down the street, back towards our house where my mother was waiting for him.

"Elissa, how about you give me your bag and I'll go put it in the guest room for you," Sam said gently.

I clutched my duffle bag tightly. "I can do it if you want," I said, not wanting to be rude.

Sam chuckled. "Don't be silly, it's no trouble at all. The kids are in the backyard having a fire, if you'd like to join them."

I took a deep breath. "Alright, thanks."

Much to my surprise, Sam squeezed my shoulder gently. "Let me know if you need anything at all, okay, honey?" Then, he walked towards a set of stairs, taking my bag with him.

The air was cold and constricting as I followed Emily's instructions into the backyard. My feet scuffed loudly against the sand and I desperately pulled the large sweatshirt of Bronson's I was wearing tighter around myself. I was nervous to do this by myself. I wasn't good at making friends; I was too shy.

The voices were loud as I approached the high-blazing fire. Several people sat around the fire on logs, some I recognized, some I didn't. No one really noticed me approaching until Andy's head shot up from his spot at the edge of the flames closest to me. He turned around and when he saw me, he hurried over to help me maneuver through the sand; I was having a rough time with my cast.

He reached me within a few strides and wrapped a strong arm around my waist. His lips pressed on the top of my head. "What are you doing here, kiddo?"

I glared at him momentarily for his choice in nickname, before sighing. "My parents have this…thing in Seattle tonight and they were worried about leaving me alone with Bronnie and JJ on _patrol_ tonight. Sam and Emily volunteered to act as babysitter."

Andy laughed lightly, squeezing me tighter to his side. "You don't need a babysitter, you need a permanent warden."

I shoved him. "Shut up."

I was thankful for Andy. Out of everyone, he was the only person besides my immediate family that I had seen every day since I had moved here. He was truly great and even after knowing him for such a short period of time; I was starting to feel comfortable around him.

Andy started to lead me towards the fire. "You doing okay?" he asked seriously.

I rubbed at my face wearily. "Please don't ask me that."

"Why can't I?"

"I don't have an excuse that's good enough for you to believe, that's why."

He raised his eyebrows. "Fair, enough."

As we reached the edge of the circle, all the conversations stopped. Everyone stared at me as Andy helped me sit down in his previously occupied spot, before he took a seat on the sand next to me, despite my quiet protests. No one said anything for a short moment and I found myself staring at the ground in complete embarrassment.

"Hey guys, if you don't close your mouths you'll catch flies, you know," Andy said loudly. He grabbed my good hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Thankfully everyone took the hint and began their conversations again. Andy started introducing me to the people I didn't know. I met Quil and Claire's daughter Allie, who was fifteen, and their son, Ethan, who was twelve. Beside Allie was Leah Clearwater's son, Tanner, who was the same age as her, and his younger sister, Chloe, who was eleven. I recognized Sam's sons, Alex and Mitchell, and Jared's, sons Avery and Kevin.

There was one girl who Andy didn't introduce me to. She sat glued to Tanner's side, her hand tightly grasped in his. She was trembling slightly and her skin tone looked a pale lighter than it should have been. She was staring right at me, her eyes fearful and angry.

I was about to ask Andy who she was, when a soft hand squeezed my elbow. I glanced to my right to see Alex looking at me with deep concern. I smiled lightly at him.

"You doing okay with…everything?" he asked quietly.

I was surprised by his question, but hid it well. "I'm fine," I told him.

He didn't really look like he believed a word I said, but he nodded all the same. "Look," he said. "I know we don't know each other very well and given the recent circumstances, you probably don't want anything to do with me or my family, but if you—if you ever need anything, Liss, I'm only a phone call away, okay?"

I didn't say anything for a moment. I didn't deserve his kindness and I could tell it was genuine—and not just because his older brother had imprinted on me, though I assumed that was part of it. It continually surprised me how friendly and welcoming the majority of the people I recently met were. They acted like I had made an impact on their life, even after only recently being acquainted with me. They acted as if my well-being mattered. It was refreshing.

I smiled gently. "Thanks, Alex, I really appreciate that." He just squeezed my arm again in response.

The fire caught my attention for a moment and I was deep in thought when a thundering howl broke through the air. I jumped in my spot, my fists clenching as I thought about my brothers. They must be out there right now, learning how to fight against vampires. I swallowed past some bile in my throat.

Andy moved onto the log next to me after one glance at my face. His one hand danced along my shoulder blades, trying to soothe my rigid posture. "Lissy, they're perfectly fine out there," he murmured reassuringly. "Trust me; I would be able to tell if something was wrong."

"What are you doing, Andy?" a thin, frantic voice cut through the silence.

The girl that had been clutching at Tanner was now standing in front of the fire, glancing at Andy in complete disbelief. Her hands were clasped together in front of herself and her dark hair hung slightly in front of her face. Tanner looked frantically at Andy, before tugging at her arm, telling her to sit down. She brushed his hand away.

Andy shot me a worried look, before looking at the girl across the fire. "What do you mean, Megan?"

"I mean," she snarled. "How can you even sit next to that girl, let alone look at her? She's a _vampire_."

I flinched, looking at the girl. She clearly wasn't a shape shifter; you could tell just by looking at her. She was thin, almost sickly so, and her clothes clung too tightly in too many places on her body. By assumption only, I wondered if she was Tanner's imprint.

Andy's fists clenched. "Actually, Megan," my cousin snapped. "Elissa is only _part_ vampire; which pretty much makes her the same as any other teenage girl. She's also my cousin and I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about her, or to her, like that."

The girl—Megan looked at him sharply. The fire was echoed in her dark eyes. "How can you even say that she's the _same_? She drinks _blood_. She could be a threat to any of us."

Tanner looked angry, he grasped her wrist and tugged at her again. "Sit _down_," he hissed.

I glanced at Andy. He was shaking—it was vibrating the entire log. He looked like he was going to say something else, but I beat him to it.

"Look," I said, my voice soft. "You don't know me; therefore you have no right to judge me by any means. The same goes for me; I don't know you. But I think you've been misinformed. Yes, if you were to literally study me under a microscope, you could see that I had both human genes and vampire genes. I may even have some werewolf, too."

I paused, trying to keep some tears of embarrassment at bay. Andy shook his head slightly, telling me I didn't have to do this. But I ignored him. "But, honestly, I'm not that much different than any other girl. Sure, I can drink blood—animal blood. I can also count on one hand alone how many times I've actually done so. It's three, by the way," I said, my voice starting to shake.

"Liss, it's okay, you don't have to—" Alex murmured.

"No, it's fine," I said, taking a deep breath. "Do you honestly think that I would sit here as calmly as I was if I planned on attacking one of you? Do you think Sam and Emily would have opened up their home to me if they thought I was unsafe? I have a broken leg, a broken wrist, and a broken nose. The most I could do to anyone right now would be to whack them with my stupid walking cast. So, if you _think_, for one measly second, that you, of all people, have _any_ right to judge me, then I think you're highly mistaken."

Everyone was completely silent for a moment. Megan opened her mouth to retaliate, when a screeching howl broke through the night. Almost immediately, every wolf was on their feet.

"Fuck," Tanner yelled. He grabbed Megan, despite his previous feelings and held her tightly.

Andy was hovering over me and barking orders at the same time. "Kev, Avery, Tanner head out there now and lend a hand. Mitch, you go too. Alex, take the kids, Allie and Liss inside and keep them there."

The boys took off without a word. Tanner kissed Megan on the forehead, holding her tightly, before taking off too, but not before casting a worried glance in his younger sister's direction.

I clutched at Andy's hands desperately. "Andy, what's going on?" I asked, fearful of everyone's reactions.

My cousin smoothed my hair, holding my gaze calmly but quickly. "There's a vampire here in La Push."

**Thanks for reading, please review!:)**


	6. Chapter 6 - Waiting on Devastation

"A vampire?" I cried. "Andy, my brothers, they're—"

My cousin held my face between his hands carefully. "You listen to me right now," he ordered softly, ignoring my previous statement of hysteria. "You listen to Alex, okay? You stay in the house; you do as you're told!"

"Okay," I whispered.

He pulled me into a tight embrace, kissing my forehead quickly, before he took off towards the forest, pulling off his running shoes as he went.

Sam and Paul appeared on the back porch. Their eyes scanned the backyard as Alex started ushering everyone in the direction of the house. I stood frozen; my eyes still on the spot where I had seen Andy disappear.

A scalding-hot hand appeared around my waist. I glanced up in surprise to see Taylor looking down at me with concern. "You need to get into the house," he said.

I glanced around and realized that Alex had already herded everyone else inside. I could still see Paul standing on the deck, watching us closely. I couldn't go inside; my brothers were out there, Andy was out there, fighting for their lives.

_Noah was out there_.

Taylor brushed a hand down the middle of my back and gently started pushing me towards the house. "You aren't going to do yourself or anyone else any good standing out here in the open," he lectured.

When we reached the porch, Taylor pushed me towards his father, who, to my surprise, wrapped his arm around me tightly. I planted my feet stubbornly on the wood deck, glancing back at Taylor frantically when I realized he wasn't following us in.

My eldest cousin glanced at me sympathetically. "I'll be fine, kid," he told me. "You just get in that house and _stay right there_." And with that, he took off running towards the forest.

Paul pushed me towards the open back door. "C'mon inside, please."

The Uleys' house had turned into utter chaos. Emily grabbed me from Paul's arms the moment I reached the kitchen and ushered me into the living room where the rest of the kids had convened together.

"Emily," I cried, grasping her hands. "My brothers, they don't know how to handle this. I need to go—I can help."

Emily smoothed my hair. "Nonsense, sweetheart," she murmured. "You need to stay here where it's safe. You won't do any good out there; you'll just make everyone worry."

My eyes widened. "My parents," I yelped. "Oh my God, I need to call them! They can't come back here! It's too—"

Paul appeared in the doorway. "I just called Jacob. They're staying in a hotel for the night. They're both fine."

I could feel myself start to panic a little bit. There was a vampire loose in La Push. Somewhere in the damn forest, my brothers were helping protect a tribe _even though_ they didn't have any training whatsoever. My parents were two hours away and I had no clue how to get a hold of them. And worst of all, I was stuck in a house full of people I barely knew, who were about to witness how completely insane I was because I was about three seconds from losing my mind.

Paul eyed me carefully, stepping forward. "Elissa, why don't you go sit down with the others, okay? We'll let you know if we hear anything from the pack."

Emily wrapped her soft arm around my tense shoulders. "Alex, come here please," she called out for her son.

Alex appeared looking serious. He took one look at Paul and then one look at his mother, before he wrapped an arm around me and dragged me into the living room, calling over his shoulder, "I'll handle it."

It was completely silent and uncomfortable in the living room. The TV was on, but no one really paid any attention to it. Ethan and Chloe had fallen asleep on the couch together, curled up tightly under a blanket. Allie and Megan sat opposite them on the loveseat, sitting as stiffly and far away from one another as humanly possible. Allie's eyes were trained on the TV, though I knew she wasn't really watching it. She seemed calm enough, despite the fear in her eyes that she was having a hard time hiding. Megan, on the other hand, was a complete mess. She couldn't sit still and every five seconds or so, she'd move into a different position. Her hair was matted at the ends from her fingers running through it constantly. However, they both looked up as we joined them in the room.

Megan was immediately tense. "What is _she_ doing here?"

Alex looked angry. "She has every right to be here as you do, Megan."

She scoffed. "_Please_," she snapped. "She has _no_ right to be here! The vampires are gonna smell her from a mile away and then they're gonna come here and kill us all."

I flinched and pulled away from Alex, before leaving the room. Ignoring Alex's calls for me to come back, I hurried through the house and upstairs into the guest room, closing the door behind me quickly.

I sat down on the bed, wiping at my eyes furiously. I couldn't help but feel ridiculously embarrassed by Megan's comments. She acted like I was some crazed killer here to murder everyone in sight. I had never even consumed human blood before. I had tried to tell her that at the fire, but it seemed that her impression of me was hard to change. It wasn't my place to tell her where to put her words, but it was getting hard not to. She just seemed so damn set on hating on me. Couldn't she just give me a chance?

I brought my knees to my chin. I knew I shouldn't feel worried about a vampire attacking the tribe, considering I was nearly one myself, but I was. I was still injured. If a vampire showed up here, there was no way Alex could take one on by himself. But, in my condition, there was no way I could be of any help to him either. What would we do?

Somewhere between my irrational fears, the constant flow of tears from my eyes, and the eerie, tense silence throughout the house, I fell asleep. And it was easily the worst two hour nap I had ever had to date.

I dreamt that I was alone, following a sickly sweet smell blindly through the forest. Then, at some point, I had reached a large field. Everyone I had met, my family, all the people I cared about—they were all _dead_; spread out across the grass in a hazardous state. A vampire—that resembled an older version of Megan—was ripping apart Noah when she noticed me. She advanced towards me, her red eyes haunting as she moved. She jumped through the air and I clenched my eyes shut, bracing myself for the impact…

But it never came. I awoke with a start, grasping the bed sheets tight between my fingers as I cried. My breathing was rapid and I had developed the worst headache known to man, but I didn't move. I knew the dream was unrealistic but I couldn't believe how much it affected me.

A hand on my back made me jump and I remained frozen in my spot, holding my breath. It continued up my back and onto my face, wiping at the traces of water it found there. I closed my eyes.

"It's okay," he murmured.

I did something then that I never would have thought I was capable of doing. I sat up and threw myself into his embrace, sobbing my heart out against his burning-hot chest. He held me tightly, pressing his face into my hair and taking a deep breath. His hands brushed my shoulder blades lightly. I fisted my hand against the fabric of his t-shirt, trying to convince myself that he was really here. He was okay.

"Shh," he whispered.

I didn't care that he had almost killed me a week ago. I didn't care that I barely knew him. All I cared was that he was alive. The rest of it would have to wait until I had gotten my better sense back.

As if he could read my mind, his arms tightened even more around me. His hot breath fanned my face as he pulled back to hold me at arm's length. His bright eyes looked me over, taking in everything as if it were the first time he had ever looked at me.

I bit my lip, wiping my face. "I'm really glad you're okay." I couldn't help it—I needed to say it.

He smiled softly, holding my hand lightly. "Of course I'm okay," he said. "Are you alright?"

I pulled out of his arms, sitting down crossed legged a few inches away from him. We were no longer touching. "Why would you think that I wasn't?"

"Well," he sighed. "You're crying—and you have been, for a while. And you're up here all alone, even though I'm pretty sure Andy told you to stay with Alex." He noticed so much.

I didn't meet his eyes. "It's a long story."

"I heard Megan wasn't so nice to you."

I gave him a half shrug, really not wanting to get into it. "She's not my biggest fan, apparently."

Noah frowned. "Tanner needs to learn to keep his imprint in line."

"No," I said, shaking my head. "It's not his fault. It's not even hers, really; some people just aren't comfortable around me. I don't blame her; it's a part of nature. I'm technically a threat."

His hand brushed my hair out of my face. "You aren't a threat," he murmured. "How could you be? You're the least judgmental person I've ever met, yet people judge you all the time. She hurt your feelings and that's unfair. She was out of line and that makes me upset."

I thought about what he said. And as difficult as it was to admit to myself; he was right. Even though vampires were generally considered a threat, I _wasn't_ some average vampire. I was a hybrid; a half-breed. I lived with other humans. I had never, ever, attacked anyone before. Megan was wrong.

_She was wrong_.

But for some bizarre reason, I felt tears run down my face again. "Why does she hate me so much?" I asked softly.

Noah bit his lip, watching me. It looked like he was having a mental argument with himself whether he should comfort me or not. He studied my face and whatever he saw there must have encouraged him, because before I knew it, I was folded up in his embrace.

I let myself relax in his arms. My father was right—I _needed_ Noah. I couldn't fight the connection anymore; I didn't want to. It was too mentally exhausting and I felt better when I was around him. I felt stronger; like I could do anything and not even come close to failure.

_I needed him_.

"There is no possible way that anyone could hate you, Elissa," he whispered.

I wiped at my eyes, resting my head on his shoulder. "She does."

"Megan, she's—well she's new to the supernatural world," Noah said. His fingers ran along my scalp as he talked. "Tanner only imprinted on her a couple months ago. He didn't wait very long to tell her about the legends. In my opinion, he told her much too early, but in the end it's his choice. I don't think she understands that there _are_ good vampires. She's too shallow to realize not all people in the world are bad or incompetent."

I wondered how hard that was for him to say. A week ago I could guarantee that Noah probably felt the same way that Megan did. I bet most of the pack did, too.

I was suddenly aware of how closely Noah was studying my face. I raised my eyebrows questioningly. He responded by brushing the pad of his thumb along my bruised nose. I shuddered at his touch and his hand moved to cup my cheek instead.

"I can't believe I hurt you like that," he murmured agonizingly. "I'll never forgive myself for it. Like father, like son, I guess."

I vaguely remembered what he was talking about. My father told us that story right around the time my brothers had phased for the first time. Sam had been the first wolf of my father's generation to phase. He had been alone; he had been uneducated. When he imprinted on Emily, it caused a lot of controversy. Mostly because he had been dating Leah Clearwater at the time—Emily's cousin. I couldn't remember every detail of the tale, but I knew that Emily had followed Sam into the woods one day. They had gotten into an argument. Sam had phased too close to Emily…

I closed my eyes and then I met his gaze straight on. "I already told you, I don't blame you for what happened. You were just doing what you were trained to do. You hadn't met me the night before; for all you know, I _could've_ been a regular vampire. It _wasn't your fault_."

His hand brushed along the cast on my arm, his eyes penetrating the plaster. "It still shouldn't have happened."

I let it go and concentrated on staying relaxed. It was difficult to get the images out of my mind. It was so weird to be sitting so close to the person who had hurt me by pure accident. It was hard. I was _trying_, but it was _hard_.

He seemed to read my mind. "I'll never let anything hurt you again for as long as I live," he vowed softly. "Not me or anyone else."

"I know."

"And I know how hard you're trying," he murmured. "I can't believe you're giving me a second chance to show you that I'm not some destructive demon. I'm so thankful for it." He took a deep breath. "And I know your brain is telling you that I'm dangerous, but please, please try and trust me. I won't disappoint you again. I promise."

I had honestly never heard something so sincere come out of someone's mouth. Noah had basically just voiced each and every one of my fears aloud without even knowing them. His eyes shined with protectiveness and trust. There was absolutely no way I could even consider his words being false hope; they rang loudly with the truth.

I was about to reply, when the bedroom door flung open. I jumped away from Noah in shock, breathing heavily in surprise. Paul stood in the doorway. He looked between the two of us briefly and opened his mouth to say something I was sure I absolutely _didn't _want to hear, but then thought against it. He looked hesitant and…angry?

"What's the matter?" I asked before I meant to.

Paul shook his head. "There was a vampire," he started to explain. "The rest of the pack was coming back from the field when they caught the scent of a vampire they had missed on the pursuit…"

Noah seemed to sit up straighter, like he knew where this was going. "Who?" he asked fiercely. His hand grasped tightly onto mine. I looked confusingly between the two of them, unsure of what this conversation meant.

"Noah, maybe I should explain a little more before—"

"_Who was it_?" Noah asked again, his voice like steel.

Paul glared at Noah. "He's hurt, but…he's okay. Well, he _will_ be okay."

I froze, staring at my uncle. "Why are you looking at me like that? Who got hurt?"

Noah and Paul met eyes briefly. Whatever secret message exchanged between them caused Noah to suck in an unsteady breath.

"Tell me," I said.

I felt Noah wrap an arm around my back, but I didn't move, staring intently at Paul.

"Elissa," Paul sighed. "It was Bronson."

Even without Paul's words, deep down I knew something bad had happened. The sudden headache, the tension I felt flowing through my body—it didn't belong to me. No, it was how my twin brother was feeling because he was _crushed by a vampire_. A vampire he had no clue how to fight. I was feeling what he was feeling.

And my whole world just seemed to shatter all over again.

* * *

**Thanks for all the reviews! Keep them up! Really glad everyone is enjoying reading this so much. :)**


	7. Chapter 7 - A Storm of Mixed Emotions

I was spread out across my bed, reading a book I had read a thousand times before but never got tired of. Thunder clashed in the distance and I huddled farther under my blanket, glancing tensely at the big window on the opposite side of the room. It wasn't raining yet, much to my surprise, but the thunder and lightning had started over an hour ago. And as every flash of lightning and rumble of thunder passed, I grew more and more tense.

Not many people knew that I was afraid of thunderstorms. It wasn't really something I enjoyed putting out for people to see. I wasn't even really sure why I was so terrified, but ever since I had been a little kid, each time a storm hit, I turned into a complete mental case.

More thunder clashed and my table lamp shook in its place on my side table. I bit my lip and sat up, hastily putting a book mark in my book to save the spot I was at. I placed it beside the lamp before I pulled the blanket around my shoulders, shivering.

"You ready to go?"

I let out a very unladylike squeak, spinning around to see Bronson standing in the doorway of my bedroom. He was dressed casually, in a dark sweatshirt and a pair of shorts. A look of impatience crossed his face, but it softened when he read the fear displayed blatantly in my eyes.

"Go where?" I asked softly.

He took that as an invitation into my bedroom, walking in and flopping heavily onto my bed. I tried not to glare as the blankets became misplaced and haphazard.

It was hard to believe that up until two days ago, I wasn't sure if Bronson was even alive. He had been attacked by that stupid vampire—which happened to still be out in the world somewhere. But today, you could barely notice his injuries. A faded pink line ran from the left side of his forehead to the middle of his cheek, where Embry had placed eleven stitches to close the gash. His right arm had been broken and then re-broken, as the bones set improperly and too quickly to heal right. Not that you could tell; it looked perfectly normal.

A hand softly tapped my cheek. "Stop studying me like I'm going to disappear any second," he murmured.

I blushed, looking away. I made myself become insanely fascinated with folding my blanket into fourths. "I wasn't," I whispered.

Bronson sighed. "Liss," he soothed. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm perfectly fine; you know that. Embry gave me a clean bill of health this morning."

I placed the blanket on the end of my bed, momentarily ignoring him. I couldn't help it. I had been so worried about him that after Paul had told me the news. I had screamed and carried on so badly that I had caused myself to pass out from exhaustion.

"You know," he murmured. "Wasn't it just a couple days ago that you were telling me off for worrying about you?"

I narrowed my eyes. "That was different," I snapped. "You were being positively preposterous."

My brother reached over to pull me into a gentle hug. "Just like you're being right now," he whispered softly. He pulled back slightly to look me in the eyes. "Honey, I'm not going anywhere. Stop worrying before you make yourself sick."

I took a deep breath and forced a smile on my face, pulling away from him to go straighten something on my bookshelf; anything to avoid eye contact.

"So, is just about me or is the storm bothering you that badly?" he asked.

I flinched. "No. I barely even noticed it."

My badly thought up excuse would have been fine, if a big clash of thunder hadn't occurred right after I had said it, causing me to let out whimper. I instantly moved away from the window, shutting the blinds as if it would stop the noise.

Bronson stood up with concern. "Liss," he said. "It's just thunder. It's not going to hurt you. Do you want me to go get Mom and Dad?"

"_No_!" I cried. "I'm fine; really." I took a deep breath, before I completely changed the subject. "What did you say when you first came in?"

He leaned against one of the posts from my bed. "I asked if you were ready to go."

"Am I ready to go where?" I asked in confusion. I didn't remember any plans being made.

"End of the summer bonfire at Paul and Rachel's," he told me.

I let out a frustrated sigh and moved towards my bathroom, throwing open the door and switching on the light. I had completely forgotten about the bonfire. My mother had told me…sometime in the last week; I couldn't really remember. But it had obviously totally slipped my mind.

Bronson laughed. "There's nothing wrong with the way you look right now," he told me.

I waved my hairbrush at him, trying to tame my wild ringlets. "I look like a slob," I scowled.

He leaned down a planted a loud kiss on my head. "You never look like a slob," he promised. "But seriously, you have five minutes or I'm leaving without you."

I got ready in record time, following my family into the SUV. Aunt Rachel and Uncle Paul's house wasn't overly far away, but no one really wanted to walk in the bad weather. Plus, my mom had cooked a lot of food and we couldn't possibly carry it all; even with the five of us.

I sat sandwiched in between my brothers, leaning my head on JJ's shoulder as I desperately tried to ignore the still ongoing thunder. I didn't join in on my family's conversation, having my own mental battle going on inside my head.

I was trying to remember if Noah had an evening patrol tonight or not. I hadn't seen him in a few days and as much as I hated to admit it, I missed him. But not just _him_—no, I missed everything _about_ him. The way his eyes sparkled, the way just his presence alone kept me calm, the way he smelled like pine and the beach.

I frowned. When did I turn into such a sap?

We pulled up to Paul and Rachel's in only a matter of minutes. Several others had already beaten us there and it was to the point where I could recognize the cars and could recite who they belonged to. And with that being said, at the sight of Sam's large grey truck, my heart fluttered uncontrollably.

JJ raised his eyebrows in my direction as he held the car door open for me to get out.

"Shut it," I snapped.

My eldest brother's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Whatever you say, little sis," he teased.

Dad wrapped his arm around me. "You feeling okay?" he asked.

I took a deep breath. "I'm good."

He kissed my forehead, before letting me go to grab a pile of food from my mother. I reached into the trunk to get a casserole dish, before following the rest of my family up the front steps of the house. Dad didn't knock—something that I still found weird—and pushed open the door, leading his way through the front entry way to the back of the house.

"Finally, you're here!"

Rachel hurried towards us, spatula in hand and adorning probably the ugliest apron I had ever seen. She kissed my father's cheek before she pulled me into a hug that left me uncomfortably breathless and claustrophobic.

"Hey, Rach," Dad said, smiling at his sister's exuberance. He didn't even bat an eye at her apron.

She took the pile of dishes from Dad and me, spreading them out on an already full table. "Nessie, I told you that you didn't even have to bring anything!"

Mom stepped forward, placing the rest of the food on the table. "I know, I know," she said, laughing. "I'm trying out these new recipes though, so I just thought I'd bring a few things for everyone to see if they liked them."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw JJ stare at our mother strangely. I knew he was thinking the same thing I was; Mom hated cooking. She was just trying to impress everyone.

Paul poked his head in the far door frame, raising an open beer bottle at my father in greeting. "Hey you guys," he called happily. "Everyone's in here and the kids are downstairs waiting out the storm. Make yourselves at home!"

JJ took that as our cue to make our way downstairs. He pushed me towards the door to the basement—the one Paul had gestured to—inclining his shoulder for Bronson to follow us.

The basement was _loud_. A movie was blasting through a surround-sound system so fiercely that I was honestly surprised that we couldn't have heard it upstairs. Not that anyone could hear what was playing; everyone was talking much louder than the show was. The only bonus of it being so loud was that I couldn't hear the storm anymore.

My eldest brother didn't hesitate to join everyone. He squeezed my shoulder, before he clambered into the room, being greeted with a few cheers and teasing punches. It was completely typical; he never had any issue fitting in with everyone. I wished that I could say the same for myself.

Bronson was hesitating at my side, glancing curiously in the direction of a few of the boys who had started up a game of foosball. I nudged him lightly, gesturing with my head for him to go and join them.

"Nah," he said, shrugging. "I'll play later."

"Bronnie," I whispered. "I can take care of myself." I looked around the room. "Look, Noah and Andy are over there. I'll just go and sit with them."

My twin brother's eyes narrowed. "That's what I was afraid of."

I raised my eyebrows. "Are we going to have this conversation right here, Bronson; in front of all these people that we hardly know?"

With a sarcastic shake of his head, he squeezed me to his side before he took off in the direction of the foosball table, muttering under his breath.

_Overprotective idiot_, I thought angrily.

"Liss, get over here!"

I made my way over to Andy, Noah, and Kevin. Several others greeted me as I passed and I smiled politely, feeling unreasonably nervous all of a sudden. It seemed like time went by ever so slowly as I walked carefully to the couch the boys adorned.

"Cripple no-more!" Andy cried cheerfully. "Where'd the cast go?"

I glanced down at my now bare left foot self-consciously. I had forgotten Embry had given me the okay this morning to no longer use the cast as long as I followed the rules. No running, no over-use—basically all irrational things he could think of. _No having fun_. My foot still hurt a lot, though. It felt awkward to walk on again; like I had forgotten how to in two weeks or something.

"Embry took it off," I said softly. "But he's already threatened to put it back on if I don't '_behave myself_'."

Andy laughed, before nudging Kevin over a few spots on the sectional to make room for me to sit down. Casually enough, the spot he made for me happened to be sandwiched right in between himself and Noah. Subtle, Andy, real subtle. Noah seemed to be thinking along the same the lines as he shot my cousin a meaningful look.

I hesitated. Did Noah not want me to sit near him? The way he looked at Andy pretty much said he didn't. Maybe he thought I was too clingy. Or maybe he didn't want me barging in on his time with his friends. Or—

Noah's soft hand tugged on my elbow. "Sit," he murmured.

I sat down stiffly without a second thought. Andy wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"So, what did he say about your arm?" Kevin asked.

I looked at my left wrist. It too, was uncovered from its former plaster cage, but wasn't completely free, unlike my foot. Instead, it was wrapped in a highly irritating _water_-_proof_ cast. I grimaced.

"Apparently it's not ready to be back to normal yet," I said, disappointment evident in my words.

No one said anything and we sat in silence for a moment, all alone in our own thoughts. I was watching my brothers interact with their new-found friends, when a loud voice called across the room.

"Andy, Kev, come play!"

My cousin glanced at Noah and I, before he stood up easily, dragging Kevin along with him. He patted my head teasingly, sending a wink in my direction. "Sorry, duty calls, folks," he said. "Noah, keep your hands to yourself, dude."

I gaped at him, watching him walk towards the games table in complete shock.

Noah laughed good-naturedly. "Smooth," he said, shaking his head.

I leaned back against the couch, unsure of what to say. I wasn't totally sure what Noah and I were, besides the obvious—imprints. We had so many different moments together that varied into complete opposite directions. Not to mention, I was so unbelievably nervous, I wasn't sure if I could form proper sentences without sounding like a complete fool.

"Sucks about the storm, eh?" Noah asked. He turned his body towards me, so he was completely facing me.

Great, of all the things to talk about…

I nodded, blushing. "Yeah," I said. _Lame_, I thought in embarrassment. _Can you sound anymore ridiculous, Elissa?_

A hand appeared on my knee, squeezing it softly. "Why are you so nervous?"

I looked down, avoiding eye contact and risking a glance at his hand. "I'm not sure," I admitted, biting my lip. "I'm not really that good at this."

"Not good at what?" he asked gently.

"Talking."

He laughed. "You're doing absolutely fine right now."

I blushed again.

His hand lifted my chin and his body shifted closer to me. I felt my heart skip a beat. His eyes shined teasingly; he had heard it.

"That's better," he said happily. "I hate not being able to see your eyes."

I nearly had a heart attack right there and then. How could I try and deny what I was feeling about this crazy, attractive boy when he kept saying everything I needed to hear? Nothing that ever came out of his mouth sounded fake or cheesy; it was all sincere, real. It was amazing.

"Are you excited for school on Monday?" he asked.

I tried to focus, despite the hand that was still resting on my leg.

My parents had broken the news to us yesterday that we would be in fact attending the high school on the reservation. They had apparently thought a lot about it and wanted us to experience the "beauty itself that is high school". I still couldn't believe my father had said that. I knew for a fact that he had hated school.

"I'm not sure," I admitted. "I've never been to school before. I don't really know what to expect."

"It's not my favourite place in the world," Noah told me, grinning. "Teachers kind of suck and homework is a pain in the ass."

I nodded. "I've been homeschooled," I said. "Some of my family members in Alaska helped with that. But a real, _actual_ school—I don't know what to think. I'm kind of nervous."

Noah's hand left my knee and settled for holding my hand instead, our fingers intertwined. "Well, the good thing is, you don't have to go it alone. Pretty much the whole pack is in school—actually we all are. I'll be there to—to help you."

It was a completely comforting thought, knowing he would be there, too. "I'm glad," I told him honestly.

His smiling response was breathtaking.

I sat silent for a moment, before a question I had been pondering for a while crossed my mind once more. "You're fourteen, right?" I asked shyly. "We're the same age?"

"Lucky for you," Noah teased, nodding in affirmation. "My brothers are the youngest in the pack. Mitch is twelve and Alex is thirteen. Connor is the oldest. Everyone else just falls in between."

I glanced towards Noah's youngest brother. "He's so young to be a wolf," I murmured.

"In age, yes," he agreed. "But my parents told us about the pack long before we were twelve. We're well educated."

He sounded so proud when he talked about the pack and his family. He obviously took his job very seriously and would do anything for the people he cared about—it was portrayed in the way he spoke.

"What are you thinking about?" he whispered softly.

"Everything," I responded instantly. "My life has never been so—_busy_ before."

"Good busy, right?" His breath was right in my ear. He sounded nervous.

I nodded, unable to speak with his close proximity. It took several seconds before I could breathe normal again. I had to fully concentrate to do so, too. I wondered if he knew how much of an influence he had on me; how much everything about him affected the way I thought and acted. Judging by the ecstatic, overjoyed look on his face, I knew he was well aware.

Suddenly, there was a loud growling noise that had everyone on their feet. Noah pulled me up carefully from the couch, wrapping an arm around me protectively. I noticed Bronson float his way over in our direction. But all eyes were on my eldest brother and the shaking girl on the couch.

Connor was holding JJ back, pushing him towards the entrance of the room. He was struggling, but not with phasing. No, his entire body was turned, focused on the slender figure of Allie Aterea, who had been pushed behind Jeremy cautiously. She was shaking; her eyes wide as she stared back at my brother, just as much in a trance as he was. Connor said something, trying to reason with my brother and he growled in response, pushing at his Alpha angrily.

I started to move towards them, but Noah wrapped both his arms around me, pressing me against him so he was hugging me from behind. His arms were relentless, cage-like. I couldn't move.

"Just let me go and reason with him," I whispered.

Noah pressed his face into the nape of my neck, placing a small kiss there. "Over my dead body, you will," he said, his voice leaving no room for arguments. "He's not in control of himself. One girl in the danger zone is more than enough."

I struggled lightly, which only caused him to tighten his hold. "Please," I pleaded. "I can help. He doesn't usually lose control like that. Something must have set him off. He'll listen to me."

My argument would have been more convincing if my voice hadn't been shaking so much when I spoke. I couldn't help it—I was wrapped up in a cute boy's arms. Plus, I had never seen my brother act so wildly before; it scared me a little.

Noah shook his head against my shoulder blades. "No," he said. "There's no way in hell you're going over there."

I gritted my teeth. "You're _not_ the boss of me," I said.

This time he kissed my cheek. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "But even the thought of you in the middle of that scares me to death. You could get hurt."

"But, he's my brother," I protested.

Noah spun me around to face him, his arms still tight around me. "And you're my imprint, Liss," he whispered. "You're too important to me for me to let you walk into the line of fire like that."

My heart fluttered and I twisted in his arms in time to see Connor and Andy push my brother up the stairs with extreme force. Though, they weren't able to shut him up. He protested the entire way. My gaze went back to Allie, who was crying lightly into Jeremy's shoulder.

I looked back at Noah. "What just happened?" I asked, feeling the atmosphere become tense.

He sighed, pressing his lips to my forehead, before bending down so we were the same height. "JJ just imprinted on Allie."

**Sorry for the long wait! Chapter would have been up earlier but I had some computer issues. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it and keep on sending me those reviews; they make me happy...and post chapters faster;) Thanks again!**


	8. Authors's Note !

Hey fellow readers!

Just thought I should apologize for the lack of update this week. The chapter is written, it's is just unfortunately stuck on my computer, which is at the moment being very _stupid _and not working. So that is a work in progress. Hoping to either get a new computer or borrow someone's so I can actually update this in a reasonable time. I don't want you guys to wait too long and I hate not writing!

I have to say I'm really enjoying writing this and I'm thankful for everyone's reviews so far.

I would like to address a couple things brought up in some people's reviews.

1) Yes, in the original Twilight books, Jake and Quil are listed ONCE in the books as second cousins. I had forgotten about this and when it was brought to my attention, it was too late for me to change the way I want the plot to go in respect to JJ and Allie. But seeing as it isn't a major, crucial part of the original books, I have decided to just apologize for my mistake and ask you to move past it. I wanted Quil and Embry to have large parts in this story, in hopes to keep the whole "Jake-Embry-Quil" trio still in tact. And with Embry being married to Rebecca, I had to find a creative way to make Quil included. This is where JJ and Allie come in. So I hope you understand where I'm coming from. Besides, second cousins are a lot different than just regular cousins and in all honesty, I do believe that Stephenie Meyer insinuated that the La Push tribe residents were all related in a sort of way (not putting words in her mouth, just saying what I got out of the books). Anyways, so that's how that happened...

2) Someone asked about the way Elissa ages. No, she doesn't age like her mother. She is her own individual person and I view her aging as her being frozen looking like eighteen year old when she reaches that age. She will still have birthdays after that, she just won't look any different. Sort of like Edward, Emmett, etc, just my own spin on it. You have to remember that Elissa is a mixture of Jacob and Renesmee, therefore she is not an exact replica of her mother. I never realized this piece of information would confuse anyone and I apologize for not addressing it earlier if that is the case. But the reason I didn't say anything about it is that I want my story to be as professional as possible and authors don't hand out information about the characters before you read their first book. They want you to make your own image and opinion of their characters. That's how I feel about my story. I don't want to dwell on Elissa's age at the beginning of the story, considering its not an issue to the plot at this time. Perhaps, in time, it might come up in sequel I do, but for now, please view Elissa as the innocent, naive, fourteen year old girl who is part vampire, part human, and a teeny part werewolf. Please remember she is her OWN person and that she isn't made to be the same as someone else. She's unique!

Remember that this story is my personal take on what life would be like for our favourite Twilight characters after the wonderful books that Stephenie wrote. This is how I pictured Jake and Nessie's children to be, so please respect that:)

With that being said, let me say that I do appreciate both enouraging and critiquing reviews on my story. It helps me make it better for both your satisfaction and mine. It makes me think deeper about my plot and help me develop better, more intense ideas for Elissa, Noah, and friends. So, I thank you. I do have to ask, that no one does, however, put this story down harshly. This is my first time I have let anyone but my own mind read anything I have written and I am working very hard to make this story my very best. So, please respect my hard work.

Anyways, thanks again for all the response. I'm more than thrilled that you are all being so supportive and enjoying this story so much. I promise you that there is much more to come for our little lovebirds, Elissa and Noah. I will do my very best to update anytime after Wednesday this week, due to high school exams leaving me little time to do anything besides study and my computer PMSing BIG TIME.

Love you all! :)


	9. Author's Note: Good News!

Hey everyone!

I have some fantastic news to share! I'm getting a new computer sometime next week! So I apologize for this week having no updates as well but I promise the next chapter is well worth the wait. Thanks for sticking with me and being so patient! You guys are awesome :) :) :)


	10. Chapter 8 - Torture in a Nutshell

**New computer finally arrived today! The first thing I did after I set it up was post this chapter for you guys! I'm so sorry for the long wait! Here's a new chapter and thank you for sticking with me and being so patient! Have a great day!**

* * *

"Good morning," I murmured softly.

I stepped into the brightly lit kitchen, scuffing my cold, sock-covered feet against the hardwood floor in hopes of gaining any heat from the friction I created. I dropped my newly acquired bright blue backpack onto the floor by the front foyer. I resisted the urge to kick it.

JJ, who was already shoving food at a rapid pace into his mouth, made a choking sound as he looked at me. "What the hell are you wearing?" he asked, coughing.

I glanced down at myself, suddenly self-conscious. I had gotten up much earlier than I had originally planned this morning, unable to sleep with the turning nerves that had swirled up in my stomach. I had curled my long hair into ringlets and dressed in a pair of white jean capris and a dark blue, long-sleeved t-shirt. I had thought I had looked alright, but JJ's comment made me start to second guess myself.

I hadn't wanted to stand out too much on my first day. With the unpredictable weather, I had decided on a pretty safe outfit that didn't make me look too underdressed. Best thing of all: my shirt covered almost the entirety of my stupid cast.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" I asked JJ. I sat down across from him.

Mom looked up from buttering a piece of toast. "Absolutely nothing," she said, before JJ could. "You look beautiful, darling."

JJ groaned. "That's the problem, Mom," he explained. "How am I supposed to keep those boys away from her when she looks like that?"

I glared at my eldest brother. "Don't even think about doing anything embarrassing, JJ."

JJ's eyes just twinkled mischievously in response.

My breakfast was placed in front of me before I could say anything else. I took a small bite of the toast, wondering if it was a good idea to risk eating anything with the way I was feeling. That, and the way JJ was scarfing food down like he had never eaten in his life before, didn't leave me feeling all that hungry. I was much too nervous.

I was worried about being too much of an outcast. I was paler than everyone else, which, unfortunately, would make me stand out no matter what. But, I had never been around so many humans at once before. I didn't want to screw anything up. I didn't want to hurt anyone.

Bronson bounded into the room, kissing my mother and myself on the cheek, before he sat down next to me. He too, dug into his breakfast like it would be his last home cooked meal. It was highly disgusting.

Mom seemed to be able to read my mind. She whacked Bronson in the back of the head with her dishtowel. "You were not raised by wolves, Bronson," she lectured. "Please, do not inhale your food."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "What if I told you that I _was_ raised by wolves?"

That got him another whack from the dishtowel. He was silent after that.

I found myself watching the clock above the stove. It read 7:45. Fifteen minutes until we had to leave and forty-five minutes until first period started. My stomach clenched unhappily and I forced my eyes back to my untouched breakfast.

"Are you going to eat or burn a hole through your food by staring at it?" Bronson asked.

"I'm not hungry," I said.

"Do you want something else, Elissa?" Mom asked.

I shook my head. "No thanks."

Footsteps pounded on the front porch and the door opened, revealing my father. He kicked off his slightly muddy shoes into the closet, before he joined everyone else in the kitchen. He kissed Mom on the cheek and then turned to smile at the rest of us.

"Morning guys," he greeted cheerfully. "Jeremy will be here to pick you up at eight."

This was news to me. No one had ever mentioned that we would be relying on our cousin for a ride to and from school. I had just assumed that JJ would be borrowing the SUV. He was the same age as Jeremy, after all. It seemed that he had adorned the same assumption, as he glanced up from his nearly empty plate of food with an exasperated expression.

"Why can't I drive?" he asked sharply.

Dad sighed. "Because I need the car today, JJ," he said calmly. "And I figured you have enough new things to worry about with going to school and that it would be nice for Jeremy to take on the driving since he's more familiar with everything," he shrugged, like it was no big deal. "Besides, you haven't done a whole lot of driving, either."

JJ slammed his fist on the counter. "I'm a hell of a good driver," he snapped. "You know that!" He started to shake.

I glanced up at him with wide eyes, scooting my stool back several inches. Bronson, now alert, was watching me out of the corner of his eye, while keeping the majority of his attention on our trembling brother.

Mom clanged a few pots together, causing everyone's sensitive ears to ring. "JJ, you will _not _change into a werewolf in my kitchen. This is our brand new home and I will not have you phase and destroy everything over an argument about a _car_."

Dad looked a lot more concerned than Mom was. "JJ, you need to calm down," he urged. "Think of your sister and your mother. They're too close for you to phase."

Dad's persuading tone, along with Mom's loud threats seemed to sober JJ up a bit. He concentrated on breathing normally, his fists clenched tightly. I watched with mild fascination—and a whole lot of fear—as his shaking stopped and he became normal again; or, as normal as he ever was in the first place. He must have had some pretty decent control to be able to stop so abruptly when being so close to changing. Either that, or even teenage werewolves are scared of their mother's angry rants.

I glanced at my mother, smiling a little. Right, like anyone could be scared of her. Despite her being half-vampire, her little stature and kind demeanour wouldn't scare a fly.

"Sorry, everyone," JJ muttered.

I smiled weakly. "Eh, what's breakfast without someone turning all furry?"

Unfortunately, I hadn't realized how true that statement was before I had gone and said it. It got everyone to laugh, though.

The sound of tires on the driveway caused everyone to turn silent. A loud, obnoxious horn blared through the morning, impatient and demanding. I guessed that once boys started turning into werewolves, they stopped having the courtesy to use their manners, too.

Dad leaned over the kitchen sink to look out the window. "Jeremy's here," he announced unnecessarily.

JJ and Bronson were up and out of the kitchen before I could even push my stool back. I took my time, making sure to carefully push my stool all the way under the lip of the countertop. Then, I brushed my leftover toast into the garbage bag and placed my plate in the sink. I spun around to see my parents watching me with amused eyes.

"What?" I asked innocently.

My father wrapped his big, heavy arms around me. I leaned into his hug, closing my eyes at his comforting, familiar scent. I was enjoying the embrace until he subtly ruined the moment by leaning down and whispering in my ear. "You still have to go to school."

I stuck my tongue out at him and my mother laughed at my unladylike gesture, before she too hugged me tightly.

"Have a good day, honey," she whispered. "Make lots of friends and be careful."

_Yeah, right_, I thought. I hefted my backpack onto my good shoulder and shoved my feet into a pair of slip-on shoes. I grabbed a jacket from the front closet before I hurried out the front door.

"Hey Lissy-loo," Jeremy crowed happily as I got in the car.

The boys had started calling me that a few days ago. Kevin had mindlessly been throwing around nicknames to call me, simply just egging me on for the fun of it, even though I had been in a terrible mood that day. And of course, the one nickname I absolutely _hated_ happened to be the one they all loved. With everyone except my own family on the bandwagon, there was no way I would ever be able to get them to stop calling me it.

I slid in next to Bronson, as JJ had claimed shotgun, shoving my bag and coat to the floor beside me. "Hey, Jeremy," I said.

"How's your morning?" he asked.

I scowled. "It would be a lot better if you stopped calling me that awful nickname."

"Not a chance," he exclaimed. He started his oversized Jeep and pulled out of the driveway.

I didn't say anything else for the rest of the ride, lost in my thoughts. I could vaguely recognize Jeremy babbling along about what the school was like, but it was all background noise to me. I was too busy thinking about other things; worrying about other things.

The only reason I hadn't put up much of a fight about school was because of Noah. Six hours in the same building as him, for five days a week, seemed like a pretty good deal to me. I couldn't help but feel excited to see him this morning. We had gotten a lot closer since I had first moved here.

Jeremy pulled his monster of a vehicle into an already-overflowing parking lot. He had to circle the rows before he finally found a spot to park. He pulled into a corner, front row spot, before he killed the engine. Then he laughed.

"Well," he said, with his voice over-cheerful on purpose. "Welcome to hell."

La Push Tribal School was not by any means much to look at. It was a terribly old, tall building that had definitely seen better days. Its grey brick had faded to the point of no return and dark windows were depressing just to look at from the outside. I didn't even want to think about what it would be like staring out of them from _inside_ the building.

"Like torture in a nutshell," Bronson muttered under his breath.

We followed Jeremy through the school to the main office, where we received our class schedules and student information. He gave us a brief tour of the building, most of which I missed because I was too embarrassed by all the looks everyone else was giving us.

Didn't these people's parents teach them that it was rude to stare?

"Well, Jeremy and I have class this way," JJ said, glancing at his schedule with confusion as he spoke. "You guys okay on your own for now?"

Bronson nodded for the both of us. "See you guys at lunch."

After walking in complete circles for five minutes, we finally came upon what I was looking for: my locker. I walked up to the rectangular, metal shape in the wall, looking at it gingerly. I spun the lock and tugged on it several times before it became unstuck and swung open. I wrinkled my nose at the inside.

"Yours is better than mine," Bronson complained, poking his nose inside my locker. We had already stopped at his earlier.

"I think that you used the word 'better' in the wrong way," I muttered. "These things look like they haven't been cleaned in years."

I shoved my belongings inside, taking my time to organize everything to my liking. I pulled my big brown purse out, placing a pencil case, my cell phone, and a bottle of water inside it before hefting it over my shoulder. I sighed at its lighter weight; glad I wouldn't have to carry my heavy backpack around all day.

"What class do you have first?" Bronson asked.

I looked at my schedule. "Um, math, I think," I said.

"You think they could have put us in the same first period to be nice," he grumbled. "I have science."

I patted him on the shoulder. "'Make new friends,'" I exclaimed, mimicking our mother's voice.

"Oh, shut up."

"Hey, newbies!" a too loud voice yelled from halfway down the hall.

Suddenly my feet left the ground and I was spun around in the air non-ceremonially. I clenched my eyelids shut, squeezing my fingers on the forearms of the person who was hefting me around like a sack of potatoes.

"'Kay, Andy, you better put her down before she blows chunks," someone chuckled.

My feet quickly met with the floor again and I stumbled, dizzy from spinning. I ended up in another, gentler pair of arms, my face pressed up against a warm, soft chest. I opened my eyes and looked up to see the face of the person I had been waiting to see all morning.

_Noah_.

"Walk much?" he teased quietly. His warm, peppermint breath fawned into my face.

My head was still spinning as I pressed a hand against it. "Not with these lunatics around."

"Don't worry," he murmured, leaning down to peck my cheek sweetly. "I'll protect you from the lunatics."

I pretended to ponder. "Hmm, protected from lunatics _by_ a lunatic…"

He smirked and pretended to drop me. I screeched, grasping tightly onto his arms for support. He chuckled under his breath as his arms caught me swiftly, pressing me up against his chest once again.

Not that I was complaining or anything…

"Hey, Lissy-loo, we have three classes together!" Andy cried with excitement.

I pulled away from Noah reluctantly to reef my schedule out of my cousin's crushing hands. I held it protectively against my chest. "Aren't you supposed to ask me what classes I have, rather than just helping yourself?"

"And how would you know that?" Andy asked, raising an eyebrow.

I shrugged casually. "Well, that's what all the other kids have been doing since I got here, so I just thought that was how it worked."

Andy crossed his arms and looked around the hallway menacingly. "Kids? What other kids?"

Kevin, who I totally forgot was there, peered at my face with narrowed eyes. "Oh stop it, she's totally bluffing."

Andy pointed a finger right in my face. "Didn't your mama ever teach you not to lie?"

I pretended to bite his finger off and everyone laughed.

A loud, shrilling bell rang and everyone around us started scrambling with textbooks and notebooks, spiralling away in different directions at a hurried pace. I glanced at Andy questioningly. I had no clue what the bell meant.

"That's the warning bell," Andy explained kindly. "It means there's five minutes until class starts."

My stomach turned nervous. "Oh," I whispered.

"What do you have, Liss?" Noah asked, throwing an arm around my shoulders.

My hands gripped my purse handle tightly, my knuckles turning white. "M-math," I mumbled.

"Perfect," Kevin cried, butting into the conversation. "You're with me and Noah this morning."

Andy nudged me softly. "I'm heading this way with your loner brother," he told me. "You okay going with these two idiots?"

I nodded and then smiled encouragingly at Bronson. He reciprocated with a facial expression that wasn't so inspiring. "'Make new friends,'" he quoted back at me in a sour voice. I laughed as Andy tugged him away.

"Got all your stuff?" Noah said, returning my attention back to my locker.

I looked down at my purse. "I think so."

"Great," he said. Then, much to my surprise, he gently took my purse from my trembling hands and tossed it up onto his own shoulder, before he started leading me down the hall, Kevin trailing after us.

"I can carry it on my own, you know," I murmured.

Noah kissed the top of my head. "Of course I know that," he said. "But with your bum arm I figured it would be easier."

I jiggled my other arm in example. "What about this one?"

"Well, if I let you carry it in that hand, then I'd have to let go of you." As if to prove his point, his hold tightened on me more carefully.

I couldn't find anything to deflect his answer because, truth be told, I didn't want him to let go of me either.

"Here we are," Kevin announced in a loud, creepy voice. "Room 110 —the math class of _doom_."

Noah shoved him ahead of us through the classroom door, shaking his head at his snickering figure. We followed him to the back, left hand side of the room, taking up the last three chairs there. I sat next to Noah at the very back, while Kevin hopped into a chair in front of me. He spun around to talk to Noah.

The classroom was a lot smaller than I imagined. There were about twenty chairs and each one seemed to have been claimed. My eyes scanned the big black chalkboard at the front of the room and the mountain of textbooks piled atop the big desk at the side. It looked like a classroom out of a movie; standard, regular—nothing special.

I became distinctly aware of several heads turning in my direction and I ducked my head, blushing. My finger traced a crack in the wood of the desk as I tried to not show how much everyone's penetrating stares were bothering me.

Noah's hand brushed at my shoulder blades absently and his body was closer to mine than it did before. I wondered if he felt the electric shock each time he touched me.

Kevin poked me square in the forehead. "You okay?"

"Why's everyone staring?" I whispered.

"Cause they're lowlifes with nothing better to do," Kevin explained.

I sighed deeply. "Will they ever stop?"

He shrugged. "Maybe," he said. "By June, I would say."

I groaned. "Fantastic," I muttered.

Noah brushed his fingers along the back of my neck. "They stare at everyone who's different than they are," he soothed. "Just ignore them. It's 'cause you're so pretty; it's distracting everyone."

Kevin made a spluttering, choking sound. I reached in front of me to bop him in the side of the shoulder half-heartedly as I tried to control the blush flooding my cheeks.

A shadow fell over the side of Noah's desk, halting our conversation.

"Uley," a boy with an abnormally deep voice greeted. "Aren't you gonna introduce me to your new friend?"

The boy towered over us, standing much too close to Noah's desk for my liking. He wasn't overly tall—especially compared to the boys I was used to—but he was definitely taller than the average fourteen-year-old boy. He was heavily built in the arms and chest, but scrawny everywhere else; like he made a daily appearance at the gym, but only knew how to work out those parts of his body. He eyed me speculatively, his lips turned up in a creepy smirk.

Noah gritted his teeth loudly. "Uh, Trevor this is Elissa Black," he introduced dully. "Liss, this is Trevor Matthews."

I smiled politely. "Nice to meet you," I said quietly.

Kevin had straightened up in his chair, his eyes narrowed at Trevor carefully. He didn't look overly thrilled to see him, which made me slightly nervous. As irritating as Kevin could sometimes be, I knew he had a good sense of character. And he _really_ didn't seem to like this boy.

"So, did you just move here?" Trevor asked. He was forcing his voice out to be deeper than it actually was; it was highly hilarious.

"Yes," I answered. "I used to live in Alaska."

"Whoa," he responded. "That's quite the move. Why La Push?"

I gave a non-committing shrug, uncomfortable by all his prying. I was vaguely aware of Noah's hand grabbing a hold of mine under the desks and giving it a gentle squeeze. It was highly comforting.

"Maybe you should go sit down," Kevin suggested. He gestured in the direction Trevor had come from with his head. "Class is going to start soon and you're starting to bug me."

Trevor crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, I didn't come over here to see you, I came to meet the cute new girl, so don't flatter yourself, dude."

I didn't appreciate the fact that they were talking about me like I wasn't in the room. I wanted to tell Trevor to go and sit down, but I didn't really know how to. He was starting to creep me out.

Noah's thumb brushed over the back of my hand soothingly, his eyes trained on my face carefully. I realized how hard I was squeezing his hand right then and I loosened my grip with a blush.

Another bell rang, sounding the same as the first, and a middle-aged lady strode into the room, shutting the classroom door softly behind her. She headed over to the big desk, grabbing a big pile of textbooks. She started to pass them out to the closest row of students. Her eyes scanned the room and she noticed Trevor standing.

"Mr. Matthews, if you would please take your seat, I'd like to begin my class," she said sternly.

Trevor smiled again. "Sure thing, Ms. Martin," he replied, before he turned back to me, raising his eyebrows. "Nice meeting you, new girl."

I grabbed Kevin's arm to keep him from running across the room and throttling the creep as he walked back to his desk. Unaware that my shoulders had ever tensed, I found myself sagging with relief when he was back on the opposite side of the classroom. Noah was sitting awfully close to me now, his hand on my jiggling knee.

Once I received a textbook, I forced myself to flip through a few pages, just to see what I was up against. I didn't know whether to be thrilled or disgusted that the first three chapters of the book was math I had learned from Jasper over three years ago. I hadn't realized how advanced the work I had done at home was, compared to this textbook.

"What's the matter?" Noah whispered.

I shook my head, flipping through more of the book. I became painfully aware that I had already covered all of these units.

"Alright, class," Ms. Martin called. "Please get out a piece of paper and a pen and begin copying down this note on our first unit."

I had to refrain from groaning as I followed her instructions. If this was how the rest of my classes were going to go, then this was going to be an extremely long, first day of school.

* * *

**Thanks guys, hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to review :)**


	11. Chapter 9 - Time Can Be Your Worst Enemy

"No, absolutely not."

I sat on an authentic bench, made to look like an old front seat of a car, my knees tucked under my chin carefully. I had joined my father on the early, Saturday morning at his newly built car garage; which he had opened up several days ago. It wasn't my first time hanging around the garage and probably wouldn't be my last; there was something about car engines that fascinated me.

Dad's long legs were the only thing visible underneath the edge of the red Mustang he was working on. I could hear him tinkering around with his tools, trying to find the source to the problem that had brought the car to the shop in the first place.

But I wasn't entirely focused on that. No, my attention remained on the fact that he had just blatantly uttered out a simple "no" to my reasonable request. So, with having the excuse of him being beneath the car, I pretended to not have heard him.

"What did you say?" I asked innocently. I heard a laugh come from one of the other guys who was working deeper in the shop.

Dad rolled out from underneath the car. He sat up and wiped his sweaty face on the edge of his dark t-shirt. "I said, no, you can't go."

I stared at him. "But, Dad," I cried. "It's not like I'd be alone! I won't even stay that late!"

"_No_," he said again. He got to his feet and headed towards his oversized toolbox, not saying another word on the subject.

I frowned deeply.

I had survived my first week of high school. It had been a painfully long week and nonetheless I was glad it was the weekend. Getting up at the crack of dawn to be ready in time and piles of mindless homework that was so completely redundant I had almost ripped my textbooks in half. Not to mention, my back hurt like no tomorrow from carrying so many books home every day.

And after going through that painful, _slow_ school week _without_ complaining, all I wanted to do was go to the party that was being held at First Beach this weekend with all my friends.

"JJ is taking Allie," I complained, following him over to the toolbox.

Despite their uncomfortable moment of initial imprinting, my brother and his imprint were getting on very well together. And by very well, I meant that I was still trying to rid my brain from the images of the two of them making out in the living room; I had been the unfortunate one to walk in on them. JJ was still teasing me about it; he thought it was hilarious.

Dad spun around to face me, cleaning a wrench with a damp cloth. "He's two years older than you," he countered.

I put my hands on my hips. "Oh please," I said. "He may be older than me in years, but my maturity trumps his _any_ day."

He had a hard time holding in his laughter at that. "I'm not commenting on that whatsoever," he muttered. "But, you still aren't going. You're fourteen years old; you don't need to be going to an unsupervised party at that age."

I let out a dramatic sigh, flopping back down on the bench to prove my point. My parents hadn't started using the "you're too young" card until we had moved to La Push. When we had lived in Alaska, they had tried to push our ages to the limit, in order for us to participate in more family activities. It was weird for my parents to sound so…_normal_.

"It won't unsupervised, Dad," I said, covering my face with my hands as I spoke. "You know whoever is on patrol will keep an eye in the woods. And Connor will certainly make an appearance. Plus, if JJ was there, he'd never let anything happen to me. I'll even bring Bronson…and Noah."

"I'm still not convinced, kiddo," he said after a moment.

The front door of the shop jingled as it opened and closed quickly, trying to keep as much heat inside the building as possible. Heavy footsteps pounded through the front of the store into the back, but I didn't remove my hands from my face.

A soft kiss was pressed into my hair. I peeked through my fingers to see Uncle Paul. He shoved me over, making room for himself on the bench beside me.

When Dad had opened the garage, he knew that he couldn't possibly manage to run it on his own. So, he asked Quil and Paul to join him and they accepted without a second thought. With my mother and I helping with the administrative jobs—I was beginning to be a pro at answering the phone—the shop's first week of business was highly successful.

"Why the long face?" Paul asked me.

I pointed an accusing finger towards my father. "Dad's being stubborn."

Paul leaned back, putting his hands behind his head. "Jake? Stubborn; no never!" he said sarcastically.

Dad, looking up from the opened hood of the Mustang, shot Paul a heated look.

"So why's he being stubborn, Lissy-loo?"

I stared at him in shock, momentarily distracted. "I'm going to kill Andy."

He laughed, patting me on the head as if to stunt my anger towards his son.

I shook my head at him. "He won't let me go to the party at the beach tonight."

My uncle stared at my father with a calculating expression for several minutes. He pursed his lips, seeming to be deep in thought. I didn't dare interrupt him; if he was planning on helping my case, I'd let him take his sweet time.

"Andy won't be there," he said after a while. "He's got patrol from eight. But Taylor will be. He can keep an eye on her."

Dad stopped. "What are you saying?" he asked sharply.

Paul laughed quietly. "Aw, c'mon, Jake," he chuckled. "The boys will keep an eye on her and no one will bother her with them around. I know you're worried, but you've gotta let her have at least a little fun. From what Andy tells me, she's been bored stiff at school with the work she's already learned. She deserves a fun night with her friends."

_Go, Uncle Paul_!

"Please, Daddy," I cried, adding it for good measure.

After a moment of tense silence, he finally sighed. He turned away from the car and waved a hand full of grease in my direction. I held my breath in anticipation.

"Bronson will be going with you. You are to stay with him or one of the boys for the entire night. And if I hear that you didn't, you won't go to another party until you're thirty. Do you understand?"

I jumped up with a happy cry, reaching to hug myself tightly to my father's side.

He groaned, shaking his head. "I've got to stop being such a pushover."

The broad smile on my face was enough to say that I didn't think so.

Later that night, I stood on the "welcome mat" in front of our front door, not feeling overly _welcome_ at all, as I waited for my parents to stop interrogating my brothers and me. I had shamelessly zoned out halfway through their protective rant and my eyes trained on the clock I could see inside the kitchen. 9:00. The fire was starting soon; we needed to get going.

"Elissa Elizabeth, are you listening?" Dad asked sternly.

I mentally cringed when the use of my middle name aroused and forced my eyes to meet his, nodding a little too quickly.

"Then what did I say?"

I blushed. "Okay, so maybe I wasn't listening."

Everyone laughed.

Dad shook his head with a smile. "Just stay with your brothers and call us if you have any problems, okay honey?"

I nodded eagerly. "Sure, Daddy," I agreed.

A pair of car keys flew through the air and landed in JJ's outstretched hand. He looked down at them curiously, before he glanced up at our parents with a questioning, hopeful look on his face.

"If you're going to be responsible enough to drive the SUV tonight," Mom said. "You are going to be responsible enough to not have any alcohol at that party tonight. That goes for you two as well," she continued, looking at Bronson and me. "Just because there may be alcohol at that party does not mean that we are giving you permission to consume any."

I knew my eyes had practically just bugged out of my head. Had my half-vampire mother just given us the _alcohol talk_? It was so foreign coming from her mouth. My parents were turning into regular, _average_, _paranoid_ parents. God, it was so weird.

"Am I clear?" Mom asked sternly.

We all nodded, straight faced.

My eyes met the clock again. 9:05.

Dad noticed. "Oh, just go, before I change my mind and stick you all in your rooms for the night."

My brothers were out the door in a matter of seconds. I grabbed my jacket from the hook by the door and pulled it on over the puffy sweatshirt I was wearing. I grabbed the door knob and had every intention of following my brothers towards the car when the clearing of my father's throat stopped me. I spun around to look at my parents.

"What is it?" I asked, halfway leaning out the door.

Mom looked concerned. "Just—just be careful, sweetheart, okay?"

I sent what I hoped was a reassuring smile in their direction. "I'll be fine, don't worry!"

The sound of a car horn honking filled the entire house.

Dad wrapped his arms around Mom's waist and ushered me towards the door with his hand. "Go have some fun," he said with a smile.

I waved as I hurried out the door and across our big front lawn to get to the SUV.

"Lissa, don't forget about the curfew!" Mom yelled from the front door.

"Okay," I yelled back as I opened up the passenger door of the car.

"12:00!" she called again.

I nodded briskly, letting her know that I had heard her. I hopped into the SUV without a word and buckled my seatbelt just in time for JJ to tear down the long, winding driveway at top speed. Idiot.

The first five minutes after JJ pulled out of the driveway were completely silent. None of us felt the need to say anything; each person lost in their own thoughts. I just couldn't believe our parents had actually let us out of the house tonight. That miracle alone could leave the _whole world_ speechless.

"So, uh, about tonight," JJ began, his voice breaking the silence.

"What about it?" Bronson asked from the backseat.

JJ turned sharply to the left, causing my ribs to clip the door handle. I held in a whimper.

"I trust you guys to be responsible enough to handle yourselves tonight."

Momentary pain aside, I glanced at my eldest brother curiously. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying," JJ sighed. "That unless you have some sort of an emergency tonight and desperately need my help, don't expect to see me around until it's time to go home."

I raised an eyebrow. "And why is that, oh great one?"

"Because I've got better things to do than babysit my kid siblings at a high school party."

Bronson sat up straighter in his seat. "God, you don't have to be such a jerk."

JJ turned again. I grabbed the arm rest for support.

"When you imprint, you'll understand, Bronson," JJ sneered.

I gasped. "_JJ_," I cried.

I spun around to see Bronson's fists clenched and his head ducked low. He looked absolutely devastated and I wanted to kill JJ for it. It had only been the other day when Bronson had taken the time to confide in me and tell me how much he wanted to imprint. It was eating away at him; he wanted it more than anything. And with the way the wolves had a combined mind while they were phased, I _knew_ for a fact that JJ would have to know this, too.

It just made it that much worse and me _that much_ angrier.

"Elissa has an imprint and she doesn't act as selfish and ignorant as you do," Bronson remarked sharply.

No one said anything for the rest of the ride and when JJ parked the SUV in haphazard shape behind several other vehicles, I was thankful that it was over.

JJ yanked the keys from the ignition, mumbling angrily under his breath as he did so. He pushed open his door and slammed it in a fluid motion, not uttering a single word to either Bronson or me. And when he hurried down the sandy path towards the noisy beach, he didn't look back once.

"What an asshole," I grumbled. "What's his problem?"

Bronson shrugged. "Imprinting has turned him into a hormonal little girl, I guess."

I couldn't really argue with that.

But, the more I thought about it, the more I worried that _all boys_ acted that way after they imprinted. I didn't want Noah to be blowing off his friends in order to gain more time with me. The thought was flattering in a way, yet I felt sick, worried he was treating his pack mates rudely just to spend more time with me.

I looked out the car window, my eyes widening at the sight of the crowds of people convened on the sandy beach. God, there were a lot of people here. More than I had seen at school. Too many people, I decided.

"Liss," Bronson said, waving a hand in front of my face to get my attention. "Are you coming?"

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," I muttered.

Bronson pulled open my door and helped me to the ground. "Of course it's a good idea," he claimed. "We deserve some fun, Lissy. Especially enough fun that will make sure our _dear_ older brother regrets his attitude."

"Fine," I sighed. "Let's go have some _fun_."

The beach was loud and crowded, making me feel terribly claustrophobic. I grabbed Bronson's hand nervously and let him lead me through the groups of people towards the more secluded part of the beach. I sat down on a big log, leaning towards the heat radiating from the high-burning bonfire. Bronson sat down to my right.

I glanced around. "I barely see anyone I know."

"Yeah," he agreed, following my gaze. "I bet a lot of the Forks kids came down for the occasion."

I never thought of that. It was a no wonder that there were so many people here, if that was the case. The Forks high school was double the size of La Push Tribal.

"Relax, Liss," Bronson murmured, squeezing my elbow. "We're at a _party_, remember? It's supposed to be fun."

It was difficult to have fun when the fight with JJ was still hung up on my brain. But, I knew Bronson, for once, was actually looking forward to this night. So, for his sake and his sake alone, I'd attempt to have a good time. Though, considering this was my _first_ party, I wasn't really sure what a "good time" entailed. And by the look of the couple making out to my far left, I wasn't sure I wanted to know what it entailed. Ever.

The fire left my cheeks feeling warm and toasty and I leaned towards it, hunching my shoulders in hopes of protecting my neck and ears from the fierce wind at my back. It seemed sort of stupid to have such an extravagant event during such a cold evening, but then again, it seemed like the people of La Push lived off of their bonfire parties. Maybe this one just felt different due to the lack of adult supervision.

None of the other kids came any closer than a ten mile radius of my brother and me, and believe it or not, I was plenty relieved. I was more than content in sitting at the peaceful, _warm_ fire next to my brother and allow myself to get lost in my thoughts.

After a fast half-hour had passed by, I glanced around the beach again. I hadn't seen _any_ sight of JJ since he had taken off in a huff. And as much as he had acted like a complete and total _idiot_, he was still my brother and I still cared about his wellbeing. I knew the beach wasn't that large and even with this many people here, I should have at least seen him once or twice out of the corner of my eye. It made me nervous that I hadn't.

"Well, if it isn't a bunch of party poopers," a voice drawled from behind me.

Kevin, Avery, and Alex bounded towards us. Their loud voices and carefree demeanours caught the attention of practically everyone in close proximity and when they joined my brother and me at the fire, it felt like thousands of eyes were burning holes in the back of my head.

Kevin sat by my feet on the sand, sitting cross-legged with his back to the fire. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why the long faces?" he asked curiously.

When Bronson clamped his mouth shut, I sighed. "We didn't exactly have the most pleasant drive over," I explained.

This time Kevin was the one raising his eyebrows and when I inclined my shoulder in Bronson's direction, I was surprised to see a look of understanding grace his face. He nodded quickly as if he knew exactly what I was talking about.

_Boys_.

"So, Liss how was your first week of high school?" Alex asked.

I groaned. "Practically a form of torture," I said. "Only worse."

The boys laughed loudly.

"You'll get used to it," Kevin smirked.

I sighed. "That's what I'm afraid of."

Alex cleared his throat. "Noah wanted to be here tonight; Liss, but Connor scheduled him for a patrol. He wanted me to tell you that he's really sorry and that he'll come by your place tomorrow."

I nodded and tried not to look too disappointed. It wasn't his fault that Connor needed him. "That's okay," I said softly.

Alex nodded slowly, seeming to accept my answer.

The boys continued to banter back and forth and Bronson relaxed slightly, joining in every so often. I was happy to see him at such ease. When the other pack boys were around, he seemed to let go and actually enjoy himself.

The next time I glanced at my cell phone screen, the big block numbers read 11:30. The beach had quieted it down reasonably and groups of people started to pack up and leave at different intervals. My eyes scanned the beach, looking for JJ, but coming up empty. I was starting to get worried.

I stood up, brushing the sand off the seat of my jeans quickly. "I'm going to go and look for JJ," I explained. "We need to be home in a half hour and I haven't seen his face once since we got here."

Bronson shook his head and tugged on my wrist. "Don't be silly; he's a big boy, he'll find his own way back."

"I'm just going to go make sure he's alright," I claimed, wrenching my hand from Bronson's tight grip.

Kevin made to stand up. "Do you want me to come with you?"

I shook my head quickly. "No, you stay here with the boys," I said. "I'm just going to go as far as the cliffs and back."

My running shoes squelched on the wet sand at the water's edge. I walked at a brisk pace, avoiding the large waves as they occasionally came too close for comfort. My eyes scanned the leftover groups of people, trying to see any familiar faces or overly tall people amongst them. I was a moment away from turning back when a voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Hey there, new girl."

I spun on my heel as a dark figure advanced towards me. I didn't recognize the person until they were right up in my personal space. When I realized who it was, I wished I had just continued on my way.

_Oh, this is all I need_, I thought unhappily.

"Hi, Trevor," I muttered.

He stumbled towards me. He was wearing shorts and a t-shirt with a pair of flip flops, which I deemed practically suicidal in this weather. Though, the cold didn't really seem to affect him. The only thing that did affect him was his own two feet and the act of gravity. The lip of his one flip flop caught on the other and he nearly tripped himself up. But he reached out and caught my shoulders with his hands.

I struggled to hold his weight and once he seemed to be steady enough on his feet, I pushed him back. My nose wrinkled at the stench of alcohol that seemed to radiate from every part of him. He smelled like he had bathed in the stuff. Then, I understood; he was _drunk_.

"It was nice to see you, Trevor," I said politely, backing away slightly. "But, I really must be going. See you in class."

His grimy hand caught my shoulder once more. "No, n-no, you have to wait," he said in a cheerful tone.

I pushed his hand off me. "Why's that?" I asked.

A stupid smile stretched across his face. "I'm drunk," he exclaimed suddenly.

I rolled my eyes. This could not be any more cliché. "You don't say," I replied sarcastically.

I glanced around, trying to find _anyone_ familiar. I had never dealt with someone under the influence of alcohol before. My parents only drank a few beers or a couple of glasses of wine when they were over at people's houses; just to remain polite. The alcohol had no effect on their bodies, because of their supernatural genes. Unless they drank _huge_ amount, it was practically like drinking water for them; only smellier. I supposed that my parents had kept me sheltered from these cruel, disgusting parts of the real world, but I wasn't sorry that they had. Especially if every drunken person smelt as _bad_ as Trevor did at that moment.

"Look, Trevor, if you don't have anything of importance to tell me, I have to go."

"Ya _can't go_," he snarled, his putrid breath fawning in my face as he spoke. "I've got to tell ya something."

"Then tell me," I said, starting to become annoyed.

Trevor's hand caught my wrist in a beefy grip. He wouldn't let go. "I dun like your boyfriend."

_Uh-oh. _

"Is that so?" I asked nervously. My eyes scanned the beach again.

"Ya," he said. "He's too _snobby_."

I had once heard a theory that drunken words often contained sober thoughts. And assuming that Trevor was talking about Noah and not confusing me with someone else, I knew that the statement had to be somewhat true; there had been quite the animosity brewing between Noah, Kevin and Trevor the entire first week at school.

"Well, I'll be sure to tell him that next time I see him," I said, trying to pull away. He just tightened his grip.

"_No_," he said again. "I n-need to get back at h-him; so I gonna use you."

_What_?

Before I had time to react, Trevor lips slammed roughly into mine. His hands moved all over my body, holding me tightly to him. I pushed at his chest, my eyes widening with shock.

What the hell did he think he was doing?

I opened my mouth to tell him off, but was momentarily distracted when he shoved his tongue down my throat. I gagged, pushing at him again. I knew I should have been able to push him away with what little immortal strength I adorned, but with his sudden strength found through alcohol and my stupid cast, I wasn't having much luck. It was seriously freaking me out; my mind was on overdrive, trying to find of ways to escape his attack.

His hands traveled up my shirt and I whimpered. I shoved him, breaking his concentration. His lips left mine.

"Get _off_ me," I cried.

I tried to pull away, but he grabbed my broken arm and twisted. I cried out and stumbled. He pushed me to the ground, clambering on top of me.

"Shut up, you bitch," he growled, shoving his tongue into my mouth again. "He's not here so I'm gonna make him hurt through you."

Tears streamed down my face as his hands traveled along my body. They appeared at the hem of my jeans and he stopped kissing me. His left hand reached up to grab a hold of my two wrists, holding them tightly, while his right hand popped the button on my jeans. I kicked my legs, struggling to get away.

"Please, leave me alone," I whimpered.

He slapped me; the sound echoed in the now silent beach. "I said shut up."

I didn't know what to do and I was starting to panic. I struggled some more and opened my mouth to scream, but his large hand clamped down on top of it before I could do so. His dark eyes burned fiercely with anger.

I knew the mixture of angry and drunkenness in a person was bad. The situation alone could vouch for that. But, how was I supposed to stop him without making him angrier?

His hand left my jeans and for a split second, I thought he had come to his senses until he ripped my jacket and sweater off instead, leaving me in just a bra. The frigid air burned my skin and while he was momentarily distracted with removing my clothes, I bit down on his hand.

Trevor yelled out in surprise. He let go of me to nurse his finger and I took the opportunity to hurry to my feet. I was nearly out of his reach when he caught my ankle, sending me tumbling back onto the sand. He picked me up halfway and started walking towards the water.

"You're a _bad _girl," he sneered. "Just like _him_. I'll make you pay; both of you."

My eyes widened as I realized how close to the water's edge we were getting. I kicked my feet and pushed at his restricting arms. "_Let me go_," I screamed. "_Leave me alone_!"

"Hey!" a voice called from farther down the beach.

Trevor spun in the direction of the voice. "_Fuck_," he whispered.

I pushed at him. "Let. Me. Go."

Unfortunately, he did let me go, and he did so right in the middle of a massive wave. He dropped me into the water harshly and the motion surprised me enough to make me become completely submerged under the waves. I coughed and spluttered and once my brain registered what was happening, I started to panic.

_I couldn't swim_.

Different arms reached under the water's surface and grabbed a hold of me, pulling me back into the oxygen-full air. I kept my eyes clenched shut and struggled against the arms, all the while sounding like I was about to cough up a lung; _attractive_, no doubt.

"Breathe, Liss," a voice commanded. A hard fist pounded me in between the shoulder blades, causing me to cough out enough water to fill a lake. It did it several more times, until I was left dry heaving and shivering.

"Let go of me," I croaked.

"Liss," the voice said. "You're okay, you're safe."

"No, _no_," I whimpered. "Leave me alone." I struggled weakly, pushing at the person's chest.

"Give her to me," a different voice ordered.

I was transferred from one set of arms to another. The second person pulled me to their chest, wrapping one arm around my back and the other under my knees. I pushed at them, as well, totally disoriented.

"Shh, Lissy."

I peered through bleary eyes at the person holding me. I took me several moments to realize who it was and when I did, I still couldn't get myself to relax.

"Taylor?" I asked.

My cousin nodded absently. He carried me away from the water and up towards higher ground. When he got there, he set me on my feet, keeping an arm around my waist.

I clutched at his shirt. "Don't leave," I cried.

"Okay, okay," he murmured. "I'm not going anywhere."

He reached down to pick up my discarded clothing and I then realized that I was pretty much half-naked. I wrapped an arm around myself self-consciously, shivering.

Further down the beach, I could hear people yelling. One sounded like Trevor; too drunk to realize that he had practically just molested me. There were several others that were too loud and muddled together for me to pick out who they were.

"Let's get your shirt back on, okay, Lissy?" Taylor whispered.

His hands came towards me and I found myself flinching without consent. I blushed. "Sorry."

My cousin just shushed me softly and helped me pull my sweater back over my head. He left my jacket off and pulled his own sweatshirt off his back, pulling it over me as well. I reached down and did my pants back up, tears pricking my eyes in embarrassment.

"Tay, I've got the car running," Connor called. His eyes looked me up and down carefully. "You okay, Lissy-loo?"

I found myself unable to answer as tears streamed down my face, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. Taylor shook his head in Connor's direction and reached down to pick me up, pulling me to his chest once more. This time I didn't struggle, too exhausted to really care. He started in the direction of the long-burnt out bonfire.

When we got close enough to the voices, I recognized Tanner, my cousin, Jeremy, and Kevin. The latter of the bunch looked like he wanted to come and talk to me, but became distracted when Trevor started struggling against Tanner and Jeremy's hold.

Trevor's clouded eyes met mine and he smirked. I buried my face into Taylor's shoulder, soaking his bare skin with my tears. His arms tightened around me and he growled under his breath. I heard Trevor cry out and I wondered if someone had gone and punched him in the face. I didn't feel bad to say that I certainly hope so.

In what seemed like a matter of seconds, we reached the parking lot. Taylor shoved open the back door of a red car and carefully placed me inside. Connor hopped into the driver's seat and much to my surprise, Taylor sat down in the back beside me. He held my hand and buckled my seatbelt around me carefully. The heat was blasting and I was thankful.

"Take her to Embry's," Taylor told Connor, pulling out his cell phone and glancing at the screen. "Someone's gotta call her parents."

I sniffled and leaned my head against the car window. My parents were going to be so mad at me. It had been my idea to go to that stupid party and I had promised to stay with one of the pack the whole time. I was never going to be allowed out of the house for the rest of my life.

"I'll get Rebecca to call them," Connor said, his eyes trained on the road before us. "It'll be easier for Jacob coming from her than from one of us. I'm sure they've got enough on their plate with JJ right now, anyways."

My head snapped up at my eldest brother's name. "What happened to JJ?" I croaked.

Connor just laughed with a shake of his head.

I struggled to sit up better. "W-what h-happened to JJ?" I asked again, my voice strained.

Taylor sighed, brushing my hair back out of my face. "I'll tell you as long as you don't talk, cause you're gonna hurt your throat struggling like that. Okay?"

I nodded fiercely.

"He got drunk," he said with a quick laugh. "Like really drunk—piss drunk; he puked everywhere so Jere drove him home."

I shook my head at my brother's irrational actions. With the werewolf gene constantly burning the alcohol in his body if he consumed it, he would have had to have a _severe_ amount in his system to take effect. He would have probably needed twice the amount a normal person would to get that plastered. And knowing my brother, he probably overdid it; _a lot_.

"Where's Bronnie?" I whispered, unable to keep from asking.

Taylor sent me a half stern, half amused look.

Connor was the one who answered. "I put him, Alex, and Avery out on patrol. No one was out there cause everyone came running when they heard you screaming."

I blushed.

"No, no," Connor said, shaking his head while meeting my gaze in the rear-view mirror. "I'm glad you did. It helped you out a lot."

"We're gonna have to teach you some self-defence stuff," Taylor spoke up suddenly. "Since you keep getting caught up in these situations," he glanced down at me with a penetrating gaze. "Do you enjoy giving your family members heart attacks? Cause I'm sure Jacob is just going to have a cow when he hears what happened."

He pretty much nailed it. Dad was going to completely freak out.

Connor pulled into the driveway of what I assumed was Uncle Embry's house. The porch lights were on, as what seemed every light inside the house was too. Connor killed the engine at the same time that Taylor wrenched my door open. He offered me a hand out and then wrapped his warm around my waist and ushered me towards the front door.

A figure appeared at the front door. The person peeked out the window and then a second later, shoved past the door so roughly that it bounced on its hinges. It took me a moment to realize who it was, but I guess I should have known.

Stumbling away from Taylor's side, I managed to hold myself up long enough to fall into Noah's arms. His lips brushed at my head and he pulled me off the ground, holding me tightly. I couldn't help it—I started to cry again.

"Shh baby, shh," he soothed in my ear. Just his voice alone was enough to comfort me.

"I'm sorry," I cried. "I tried to stop him, I—"

Noah placed me on the ground to hold me at arm's length. His eyes studied my face. "Hey, hey," he murmured. "Don't you dare go blaming yourself about anything. This is _not_ your fault. _You did nothing wrong_."

I nodded slowly, unable to fully accept his words. He sighed deeply and pulled me back to his chest. His lips found purchase on my bruised cheek. His skin was wet, like he had been crying, too.

"Noah," Taylor's voice called from behind me. "Bring her inside so Embry can have a look at her. She's got to be freezing."

Noah studied me again. "Why is she wet?" he asked, stroking my soaked hair carefully.

Taylor ushered us towards the front door with one hand. He didn't answer.

"Trevor shoved me in the water," I whispered.

He froze mid step. "So attacking you wasn't enough?" he growled. His hands started to shake.

Taylor punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Dude, I don't want to have to get Connor to send you out to the woods," he snapped. "But I will if you can't control yourself. You need to be calm and relaxed for Elissa. Can you do that?"

"Yes," Noah said. He squeezed my hand in apology.

The lights were bright inside Uncle Embry's house. I allowed my eyes to adjust momentarily while Noah helped me take off my shoes. He led me through the foyer into the living room, which contained my Uncle Embry, my Aunt Rebecca, Andy, Jeremy and Connor.

Andy hopped off the couch and hurried towards me. I tried not to flinch as he reached out and pulled me into his arms. He held me just as tightly as his brother and Noah had, his shuddering breath echoing in my ears.

"I was so worried about you," he whispered. "I'm so glad you're okay, little cuz. I'm so sorry I wasn't there."

God, he was turning into another Bronson. I squeezed him back to the best of my ability. I couldn't complain. He was such a good cousin.

"Andy, let her sit down, please," Uncle Embry said.

I pulled out of his embrace and walked slowly to the couch. I hesitated in front of it, worried over the state of my soaking wet clothes. I didn't want to ruin their furniture.

"Sit down, sweetheart," Aunt Rebecca urged.

I bit my lip. "My clothes are soaked, though."

Jeremy shook his head from his spot on the other couch on the opposite side of the room. "Don't be stupid, Liss, it's just a couch."

Uncle Embry gently grabbed my wrist and helped me onto the couch. He wrapped several blankets around my back. Noah stood behind the couch, his fingers playing absently in my hair. It was soothing.

"Tell me what happened, honey," Embry said, sitting down next to me.

I swallowed deeply. I opened my mouth to speak and then closed it, unable to really form the words. My eyes brightened with tears again.

Connor stood up. "Rebecca, would you mind calling her parents?"

Aunt Rebecca nodded quickly. She reached over to plant a kiss on my forehead before she followed Connor out of the room, dragging Jeremy and Taylor along with her.

"Try and tell me," Embry said again. "It's important."

I took a shuddering breath; Noah's hand smoothed my hair. "I—I went to go look for JJ," I whispered.

After a very embarrassing go through of the incident and an even more embarrassing examination from Embry, I was certain I was all cried out. My parents arrived sometime after, both nearly in hysterics. My mother grabbed a hold of me and cried for a good five minutes before she told me how much she loved me. Dad looked like he might phase any moment. He only ever did so a couple times every month, so seeing him in such a conflict was odd. They were a bigger mess than I was.

Sometime later I lay under the covers in the guest bedroom of Uncle Embry's house. I was fully showered and dressed in a pair of pajamas that my mother had brought me. I leaned back into the pillows, clutching Noah's hand as he sat next to me, leaning back against the headboard.

"I'm going to kill that kid," Noah said after a while.

I sighed. "I think a couple of the guys already beat you to it."

"Good," Noah muttered. "He deserves every punch."

I shuddered. "He's such a creep."

Noah's thumb brushed across my cheek, barely touching the bruised skin there. "You're safe now," he soothed. "He won't hurt you again."

I didn't want to tell him what Trevor had said; he'd be too angry. For all I knew it could have been just drunk mumbo-jumbo that he had been muttering anyways. I didn't want him to get all worked up about if it was just a bunch of nonsense.

"Do you need some pain medication?" Noah asked.

I shifted, snuggling farther under the warm blankets. "No," I sighed. "Embry gave me some after he re-casted my arm. He said the bruising should go away in a couple of days."

The stupid idiot had cracked my waterproof cast, further injuring my once broken arm. Thankfully, he hadn't broken it again, just bruised it pretty bad. That, along with my stomach and my face; who knew a jerk of a drunken kid could injure a half-vampire that easily? Apparently I wasn't as strong as I once thought I was.

"Your parents said you'll have to give a statement to the police," he said suddenly. "They're pressing charges. Taylor and Tanner have to as well."

"Tanner?" I asked.

"Yeah," he nodded. "He was the one who pulled you out of the water."

I shuddered at the memory. "Oh," I whispered.

"Why didn't you swim out of the water?" Noah asked softly, curiously.

I blushed, biting my lip. I had hoped that this wouldn't come up. "I, um," I stammered. "I don't know how—to swim, I mean."

Noah looked surprised. "Oh," he said. "We'll have to fix that."

That was what I loved about him. He was so accepting of everything. He didn't want to change anything about me; he liked me for who I was; even if I couldn't swim.

_Wait…loved_? _Where did that come from_?

"I think I'll wait a while," I whispered. "You know, when it's actually _swimming weather_."

He laughed softly. He glanced up at the big clock on the side table to his right.

"You should get some sleep," he said. "It's almost 2:30."

I clutched his hand tightly, my eyes widening. He couldn't leave me; I didn't want him to. I didn't want to be alone, but I didn't want to be so needy either. I felt so conflicted.

He got up and switched off the light, leaving us in complete darkness.

"Please don't leave me," I whispered, almost hoping he hadn't heard me. "Please."

The bed dipped down as Noah joined me once more. This time he lay down beside, on top of the blankets, and his arms reached out for me blindly. He pulled me towards him so my back was to his chest.

"I'll never leave you," he murmured. "Ever. I promise."

I clutched his hands tightly and he smoothed back my hair, kissing the edge of my forehead. His nose rested against my hair, right by my ear. "Shh, I've got you."

Slowly, I began to relax and my eyelids started to droop. I snuggled into his warmth, wondering how I got so lucky to ever deserve someone as great as him for an imprint.

"Go to sleep, babe," he whispered in my ear, kissing my earlobe.

And with my protective wolf at my side, I did.

* * *

**Well that was a long chapter! I hope you enjoyed it:) Please review!**


	12. Chapter 10 - Secrets Withheld

"For tomorrow, I want you all to write an essay on the three chapters that we read in class today. As well, complete questions one to seven for each chapter."

I tried not to grumble under my breath as I jotted down Mrs. Mable's instructions into my student planner. Her history class was the only class I had a hard time with. The textbook was filled with information about La Push and the history of the reservation. But the problem was: I didn't understand it. It was written partially in English and partially in Quileute—the only language I wasn't almost fluent in.

A shrilling bell rang. "Class dismissed," Mrs. Mable announced.

I stood up and started stuffing my books and other belongings into my backpack. It was difficult to do so one-handed, as my left arm remained immobile in a new cast and a black sling. I zipped my bag shut and threw it over my good shoulder, before following the rest of my classmates towards the door. I was almost into the hallway when Mrs. Mable beckoned me towards her desk.

I gulped, hesitating in the door way. "Is there something wrong, Mrs. Mable?"

My teacher shuffled a few pieces of paper on her desk. "I'd like to discuss something with you, Miss Black."

I wracked my brain, trying to figure out if I had done anything wrong. I was completely on my own in this class, much to my dislike, and I wasn't totally up to date on school etiquette. I wasn't even supposed to be at school today.

After what had happened Saturday night, Uncle Embry had encouraged my parents to let me take a couple days off of school. Dad had practically suggested completely taking me _out_ of school altogether and confining me to my bedroom for the rest of my life. I didn't take his threats to heart, but I did refuse the days off of school.

I didn't want the incident to seem like it overly affected me. I knew that it would be all over the school this morning and I wanted to remain strong about it. That and I didn't want to get behind on my school work. It wasn't that I overly enjoyed doing homework; it was that I needed something to distract me from thinking about what had happened.

The constant nightmares were bad enough.

"I wanted to talk to you about Friday's homework," Mrs. Mable said, getting straight to the point.

I stood awkwardly at the corner of her desk, watching her rearrange things on the top of it. I didn't know what to say.

My history teacher finally met my gaze. "I didn't receive your paper."

My eyes widened. "I didn't do it," I whispered. "Something happened."

She looked me up and down. "Yes, I can see that," she remarked sourly. "It must have been quite the event to keep you from handing in homework from the _first _week of school."

My throat felt dry. "It was."

Mrs. Mable sighed. "Would you care to give me an explanation?"

_Great_, I thought. _How am I supposed to tell her that one of my drunk, psychotic classmates attacked me at the bonfire this weekend?_

"I'm not really supposed to talk about it," I said awkwardly.

"Well, then perhaps you can explain it to the principal," she lectured. "Because if that paper isn't on my desk tomorrow morning, _along_ with tonight's assignments, that's where you'll be spending my class. Just because your father is the Chief does not mean you reserve any special treatment. Understood?"

"Y-yes," I whispered.

"You may go."

I walked along the deserted hallway to my locker, wishing I could come up with some sort of excuse to skip the rest of the school day and just go home and sleep. It took me several attempts to open my locker and when I finally did, I just shoved my backpack to the bottom of it with a huff. I glanced at my lunch bag undecided if I should bring it with me, even though I knew I wouldn't eat anything out of it anyway. I couldn't eat with the way I was feeling.

Deciding to go empty handed, I walked in the direction of the cafeteria, lost in my thoughts. I didn't want to go in there—everyone would stare at me. Our table was at the far corner of the room; I would have to walk past everyone to get there.

_Maybe I should just skip lunch altogether_.

The more I considered it, the more a different voice in my mind reminded me that Noah was in the cafeteria. Despite the mood I was in, I couldn't deny that I wanted to see him. First period math class seemed like it had been ages ago. And sure enough, several moments later, I found myself standing in front of the double doors of the cafeteria.

"Just get it over and done with, Liss," I muttered.

In the same instant that I pushed open the doors, the room became eerily silent. I took a deep breath before I  
walked towards the crowded table I had become accustomed to sit at. My eyes looked anywhere but the faces of all the people staring at me. Soon enough, whispers broke out in the room. My cheeks burned.

Noah, Kevin, Andy, and Bronson looked up as I joined them at the table. I sat down in between Andy and Noah without a word, keeping my eyes downcast. I cradled my sling to myself, feeling uncomfortable.

Bronson reached across the table to squeeze my good hand. "Where were you?"

I shrugged half-heartedly. "Mrs. Mable needed to talk to me about something."

"Is everything alright?" Bronson asked cautiously.

I nodded quickly, not wanting to delve into the details with so many people around to eavesdrop.

They took the hint and quickly started up their conversation once again. I listened in as they complained about some teacher that had given them umpteenth pages of homework for the next two days. My eyes scanned the room.

JJ sat with the older pack boys at a table not too far away from ours. They were loud; their teasing, comfortable tones filling up the majority of the awkward silence in the room. JJ's arm was slung around Allie's thin shoulders, though he wasn't speaking to anyone. There were circles under his eyes, like he hadn't slept a wink last night, even though I had heard him snoring all night long. As if he could feel me staring at him, his eyes snapped up to our table and I quickly looked away. I hadn't spoken to him since our fight in the SUV before the party.

Noah's warm hand brushed my shoulder blades softly. "Aren't you hungry?" he asked.

I shook my head silently. Without even thinking, I leaned my head down on his left shoulder. The moment I realized what I had done, my eyes widened. Was this what I was supposed to be doing? Was this what Noah wanted? My mind was in shambles. But, for some odd reason, I didn't move my head; like there were electromagnets keeping me from moving from his shoulder.

It seemed like the move had been okay because I moment later, Noah's lips appeared on the edge of my forehead. He kissed the skin there, his lips lingering softly. Then, he put his arm around me, pulling me tighter to his side.

I smiled, knowing he could see my face. This moment alone made all my morning woes disappear.

"Are you doing okay?" he whispered.

With a sigh, I sat up straight, taking my head away from him. "I don't know."

He seemed to understand. "You look like you didn't get a very good night sleep."

"That's because I didn't," I said a little louder, rubbing my eyes. I noticed Bronson watching me out of the corner of his eye as he conversed with the other two boys. "But that's probably because _someone_ was snoring a little loudly last night."

Bronson stuck his tongue out at me as Noah laughed.

When my brother's attention was elsewhere once more, Noah nudged me gently.

"What's up?" I asked, my bad mood nearly gone. It was funny how spending time with these crazy hooligans just seemed to make me feel better no matter what.

Noah hesitated, worrying his bottom lip. He looked shy; something unusual for him.

"What is it?" I asked, curious. I was smiling.

He took a deep breath, a smirk forming on his face when he realized I was giggling away at his expense. "Fine," he teased. "I was wondering if you wanted to do something after school today."

I tried not to seem too eager, even though my heart was beating a mile a minute. "Like what?"

"Anything you want."

My eyes travelled to JJ's table again. "As long as it's not at my house," I said quietly.

Noah followed my gaze. "Okay," he agreed. "We won't do anything too strenuous, since you're miss _cripple _again." I flicked his forehead at the nickname. "But maybe we can hang out with a couple of the guys? Watch a movie?"

I found myself nodding enthusiastically. "Sounds great."

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Groups of people rushed out the double doors of the cafeteria, hurrying to get their things for their next classes. Noah hopped up quickly and pulled me off the bench.

"Are you ready for English class, Lissy-loo?" Andy asked.

I nodded. I turned to Noah and offered him a shy smile. I didn't have another class with him until last period gym. He surprised me by pulling me forward and into his chest. He kissed the top of my head before he let me go reluctantly. Then, he winked, before walking out of the cafeteria with my brother and Kevin, leaving me alone with Andy.

"Come on, _cripple_," Andy said, tugging me towards the doors. I hadn't realized I was still staring off in the direction Noah had disappeared in.

"You boys and your nicknames," I muttered as I followed him towards the direction of my locker.

The rest of my classes went by slowly and when the final bell of the day rang, I couldn't be happier. I rushed through the halls, grabbing my bag and necessary school books as quickly as I could; ready to go home and try and forget about today.

I stood under the lip of the roof at the front entrance of the school with several other students, trying to escape the rain as I waited for the familiar black SUV to pull into the parking lot. My mother was picking us up all week, as JJ was grounded from driving due to his weekend _troubles_. He was not very happy about his punishment, but my parents were completely relentless.

I had suffered an even worse sentence, if anything else. I wasn't allowed to go anywhere on my own for a whole month. I wasn't allowed to walk home from school or even walk to someone's house unless I was _chaperoned_ by a trustworthy candidate. Once again, I was being babysat.

"Mom's still not here yet?" Bronson asked, as he joined me under the shelter a few moments later.

"No," I said, worried. My mother was always one for punctuality.

"Nothing to worry about, Liss," he said with a shrug. "She probably just got caught up in traffic."

I met his eyes briefly. Traffic; in _La Push_? Who were we kidding? I pulled out my cell phone, hoping to find some message explaining why she was late, but there was nothing. And it was already fifteen minutes after the bell.

"Should we just walk home?" Bronson wondered. He stood on his tiptoes as he spoke, trying to scan the busy parking lot for our car.

Normally, I would have said yes, but with the recent events that had happened, I figured I probably shouldn't push my parents any closer to the edge. If they wanted me to be babysat like a seven year old and wait for them, in the rain, to come and get me from school, then that was what I was going to do.

"Where's JJ?" I asked.

Bronson raised his hands in an "I-don't-know" way. "How should I know? I haven't talked to him since this morning."

After five more minutes had passed, I pulled my cell phone out once more and dialed my home phone number. I listened as the phone rang and rang, until the answering machine finally picked up. I pressed the "end" button in frustration, not bothering to leave a message.

"Call the garage?" Bronson suggested, leaning back against the wall.

I shook my head. "Closed on Mondays," I reminded him.

My brother danced on his feet slightly, a worrying expression gracing his face. "Well, she better hurry up," he muttered under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear. "I have patrol at four and I can't leave you here on your own."

Someone's voice carried across the parking lot, shouting out my name. I squinted, trying to find the source of the sound. A moment later, I noticed Emily waving at me from the driver's seat of her pickup truck. I raised my eyebrows at Bronson, before I flipped up the hood of my jacket and beckoned for him to follow me. What was she doing here? Noah had a three o'clock patrol; he was already gone.

"Hi, Emily," I said, talking loudly over the rain as I approached her open window.

"Hey kids," she called back just as loud. "Get in the car and I'll explain."

I hopped into the passenger seat while Bronson spread across the backseat. I pulled my wet hood down, wiping my hair away from my forehead. I assumed I looked like a drowned rat.

"Your mom called me in a panic about five minutes ago," Emily explained, putting the car into drive.

I gripped the arm rest. "Is she okay?"

Emily shot me a reassuring smile. "Oh, yes, she's fine," she said, laughing a little nervously. "She just had some business to take care of that she couldn't step away from. She asked if you two could come to my house until she was done."

_What business?_ I wondered.

"What about JJ?" Bronson asked.

"He's on patrol, as far as I was told," Emily replied, focused on the road now.

That was the first I had heard of that, but I didn't say so. If my eldest brother was getting himself into some more trouble, I didn't want anything to do with it. As far as I was concerned, with the way his attitude had been the other night; he could dig his own grave.

The drive to Emily's was much shorter than it was to our house. She pulled into her driveway, which was surprisingly empty for once, and killed the engine quickly. We followed her into the house, kicking off our muddy shoes at the front door.

"Alex and Mitch are in the living room," she told us, disappearing into the kitchen.

Bronson glanced at his watch. "I've got to head out," he said with a sigh. "I'll see you later on."

I gave him a quick hug. "Be careful," I warned.

He mussed my already-messy hair. "Shut it, worry wart."

I joined Noah's younger brothers in the living room silently. Their eyes were glued to the TV; barely offering me a greeting as I sat down on the unoccupied couch. I shook my head at how distracted they were by some sports team's highlights and opened up my English textbook, deciding to get a head start on my homework. Who knew how long I was going to be here?

I found it difficult to concentrate. After I reread the same sentence about a dozen times, I had practically given up. What on Earth were my parents up to? My mother had specifically claimed that she would be at home all day, cleaning our already spotless house. How had such business aroused that she couldn't come and pick us up? And where was Dad? He didn't work today; why couldn't he have gotten us instead? I was really getting tired of my family's secrets, which somehow often enough came up out of the blue one after another.

As I tapped my pencil against my textbook, unable to answer the first question of my homework, I knew one thing was for certain.

I was _going_ to find out why everyone was being so secretive.

* * *

**Hey everybody, hope you enjoyed the new chapter! Sorry updates have been so slow, I've got a whole lot of stuff going on right now with school and such, so not a whole lot of time to write! But, I'll be sure to update again sometime next week:) Ps. - would really love to hit 100 reviews if that's possible ;) Thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 11 - Nightmares Become Reality

**I am SO sorry for such a long break! I feel like I have had no time to myself these past few weeks. I'm not giving up on this story; I don't think you guys would let me ;) But updates will be a little spread out for the next little while. Please don't give up on me! I really appreciate all the support I'm getting for this story. Here's the next chapter :)**

* * *

_Hands reached towards me. I pushed them away and was rendered into complete darkness. My eyes wouldn't adjust to the blackness around me and I spun around frantically, trying to figure out where I was. I could smell alcohol and it burned my nose._

_Then, all of a sudden, Trevor's face appeared before me. It was massive and big, like a balloon floating in the sky. Each time I stepped back, the face got bigger. I couldn't escape it._

_I blinked and then Trevor's face was mixed with that of a werewolf's. Sharp teeth and wild eyes, it moved towards me, snapping angrily. I stumbled on the ground, stuck and unable to move._

_The werewolf's mouth opened. "Hey new girl," it said, howling._

_I screamed._

My eyes popped open and I sat up quickly, trembling. My hand traveled along my side table until it met with the switch for my lamp. I turned it on, sighing a little with relief as light flooded into my once dark bedroom. My eyes were misted with unshed tears and I ran a hand through my hair, breathing heavily.

"Just a dream, Liss," I reminded myself, leaning back against my headboard. "It was just a dream."

I sat in bed silently for several minutes, contemplating on how I was supposed to get back to sleep after a dream like that. They had been getting worse each night; more and more vivid. I just wanted them to stop; it was bad enough Trevor was intruding on my reality—I didn't need him taking up my subconscious, too.

I decided to get up to get a glass of water. My throat felt dry and scratchy—to the point where it was starting to get uncomfortable. But, when I reached the edge of my bedroom door, which separated my bright room from the dark hallway, I hesitated. It was completely irrational to think the way I was, but I was slightly afraid to go down into the dark house on my own.

I grabbed a flashlight from my closet. _Stop being a baby_, I thought angrily.

When I got down to the kitchen without being attacked, I felt somewhat better. But, just to be on the safe side, I turned on the overhead lights in the kitchen. I grabbed my glass of water along with two Tylenol's, chugging both things down my tender throat as quickly as possible.

I placed my glass in the sink and turned off the kitchen light. I slunk towards the staircase, deciding I should at least _try_ to get some sleep. But, as I reached the banister, I stopped, glancing towards the open room of the living room.

_TV always makes me tired_, I thought enthusiastically.

I huddled up on the couch, yawning. I threw the green throw blanket over my shoulders and turned the TV onto the cartoon channel, not even pausing to see what show was on. I huddled my knees under my chin and placed my elbow on the arm rest, resting my chin in my hand. I would just watch TV until I was tired enough to go back to bed.

I didn't even remember falling asleep. But the next thing I knew, I was being shaken awake. I jumped, blinking quickly before focusing on the concerned face of my father. My eyes traveled around the room, trying to remember how I had gotten to the couch, and once I did, they traveled to the nearby clock. 7:30.

"Oh my God," I cried. I went to stand, but my head started to spin at a mile a minute and I fell back down onto the couch.

"Honey, why aren't you in your bedroom?" Dad asked, sitting down beside me.

I didn't meet his eyes. "I couldn't sleep," I said, clearing my throat.

Dad looked slightly suspicious. His eyes studied my face thoroughly and then he placed the back of his hand on my forehead.

"Dad, I need to get ready for school," I protested.

His hands brushed across my cheeks. "No, I don't think you do," he told me.

I sent him an incredulous look. "What do you mean? We have to leave in a half hour and I'm not even—"

Dad shook his head. "You have a fever, honey," he said. "You're not going anywhere but back to your bed."

My eyes widened. "But Dad, _no_," I cried.

He didn't even respond. All he did was pull me carefully off the couch and guide me into the kitchen. He pulled out a stool for me to sit on and then proceeded to lift me onto it like I was four years old again. I was starting to wonder how badly I actually looked for him to act so irrationally. There was absolutely no way that I had a fever.

Mom came into the kitchen, looking just as surprised to see me as I felt to be sitting there. "Sweetheart, what are you doing in your pajamas still?" she asked softly.

I sighed. "I fell asleep in the TV room and Dad just woke me up," I explained exasperatedly. "But he won't let me go get ready."

"She has a fever," Dad said.

My mother felt my forehead, too, looking concerned. She moved to the cupboard above the stove, rummaging around in it quickly. Once she found what she was looking for, she moved back over to me and proceeded to shove a thermometer into my mouth a little too roughly.

"Mmfh," I protested.

"Hush," she murmured. "You can take that out when it beeps."

I crossed my arms. This was absolutely preposterous; there was no way I was sick. I had an excellent immune system; better than the average teenager. I had never been sick before and I was hoping to keep up that track record.

The thermometer shrieked and I tore it from my mouth before anyone else could. _101 degrees_; you've got to be kidding me.

"Let me see," Mom ordered. I handed it to her reluctantly. It took her less than a millisecond to read the tiny screen. "That's it, no school for you today."

I felt my eyes go wide. "But, Mom, I can't be sick! It must be some mechanical error!"

"Honey," Dad said with a laugh. "The machine doesn't lie."

Mom poured hot water from the steaming kettle into a mug. "You probably got sick from being dunked in the cold beach water," she fretted.

"Mom, it's just a fever," I said.

I instantly regretted my words. My mother always overreacted…about everything. But if there was one thing my family took seriously; it was fevers. A fever is the first sign of someone beginning to phase. So of course, to my parents, fevers were no laughing matter. They both seemed to get a little panicky about them. Of course, there was no way I would ever phase; that much was obvious.

_As far as you know_, my self-conscious teased deviously.

"Liss, are you going to school in your pajamas today?" Bronson asked, joining us in the kitchen.

"Apparently I'm not going to school today," I muttered sourly.

My twin brother sat next to me. "Why?" he said carefully, looking at our parents.

"She has a fever," Dad said. He took a nonchalant sip of his black coffee.

Bronson turned to look at me. "You're sick?" he said. "How?"

"I'm _not_ sick!" I cried hoarsely.

"Elissa, I have to go to Port Angeles for a business meeting today," Mom said, interrupting my tiny rant. "And your father has the garage. Will you been fine here or do I need to make other arrangements?"

I tried not to roll my eyes. "I'll be fine here, Mom."

Dad held up his cell phone, his eyes trained on its screen. "Rachel says she'll ask Taylor to pick her up after school and bring her to their house."

I stood up. "Did I _not_ just say I'd be fine here?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Mom agreed as she washed some dishes. "Now, Elissa, off to bed."

"Are you going to pretend that I'm not even talking?" I asked.

This time she turned around from the sink. "Bed, now."

I sighed dramatically. I ruffled Bronson's hair as I walked by and trudged towards the staircase. Dad kissed the top of my head as I passed him, wishing me to "feel better".

I took the stairs silently and slowly, thinking more about what my mother had said. Again, she claimed to have "business" out of town. No explanation of what said _business_ was; just that it existed and remained nameless. It was a peculiar excuse; my mother didn't have a job. Therefore, she didn't have to attend any _business meetings_.

Something just didn't add up in the equation.

JJ appeared from the bathroom the same time I reached my bedroom door.

"Liss—"

I slammed my bedroom door shut, silencing anything he was about to say. I wasn't ready to be done being mad at him yet.

I fixed my haphazard blankets and pulled them up to my chin as I sank down into my pillows. This time, I didn't have to worry about having any issues sleeping because the moment I closed my eyes, I was completely unconscious; snoring and all.

I woke up around one to a silent house and a less-stuffy head. I had never slept that late before—always an early riser—and it felt like I had just slept for a week. I only had an hour and a half until Taylor would be here to pick me up, so I decided to get ready now.

I showered and changed into leggings and a baggy t-shirt, pulling my hair into a wet bun. I went downstairs to wait, grabbing a granola bar to munch on as I did so. I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday morning and my stomach felt like it was going to eat itself in desperation.

This was the first moment since we had moved here that I had been completely alone inside the house. I had to admit, it was kind of nice. I could get completely lost in my thoughts and not have anyone interrupt me. The silence was refreshing.

I heard the vibration of my cell phone from inside my backpack where I had ditched it by the front door yesterday after I had gotten home from Noah's. I padded over to it and turned on the screen, surprised to see it still had half a battery left. I was also surprised to see a text message from Noah.

We didn't text very often; not exclusive enough in our relationship to feel the need to. Only when we didn't see each other or talk to each other did the texting come up. I felt little butterflies build up in my stomach as I clicked on the message to open it.

_Was worried that u didn't show up this morning, but talked to B. Hope ur feelin better, see u at Andy's tonite. – Noah 3 _

Even though it was just a simple text message, I still felt like nothing mattered but the fact that he had indeed _texted_ me. It meant he had been thinking about me; he _noticed_ my absence.

My eyes widened. "Oh God," I muttered to myself. "Its official, Elissa; you've become a lovesick teenager. Way to go."

For the rest of the afternoon, I lounged around the house, attempting to finish some homework that I had left from the night before. I sat in front of my history textbook for what felt like hours as I tried to make sense of what it said. I knew a few words in Quileute, but Dad had never spoken it much around the house until we had moved here. So, I was at a loss.

And I didn't want to ask for help. I knew one of the boys would have been able to help me, no problem, but I was supposed to be incredibly smart; asking them for help would just prove that I wasn't independent. I had to do it on my own.

But, the more frustrated I got with the foreign words, the more easily distracted I became. My notebook page was covered with doodles and writing that had no relevance to my homework whatsoever. Plus, I couldn't stop thinking about Noah's text.

My phone buzzed again, as if on cue. I picked it up and scrolling through the phone until I came across a new text message from an unknown number. I frowned and opened it cautiously.

_I know your secret_, it read.

I froze. I reread the message several times, trying to understand what it said and when I did, who it was from. I scanned the number, wondering who in the world had sent me this. What secret were they talking about? Was this a joke? So many questions ran through my mind at once, I felt dizzy all over again.

"Are you getting anything done?"

The voice caught me off guard and my phone flew out of my hands and onto the hardwood floor with a loud _smack_. I hopped up, my heart beating at an irrational rate, and flew back against the wall in complete and utter shock.

Taylor held up his hands cautiously. "Easy, kid," he muttered.

I held a hand to my chest, as if it would stop my heart from leaping out of my chest. "Sorry," I whispered breathlessly.

"Didn't you hear me come in?" he asked, stepping closer to me.

I ran a hand over my face in embarrassment. "I guess I was too focused on something else."

"Right," Taylor replied with a small smirk, leaning down to pick up my discarded phone.  
"Like texting _someone_ instead of doing your homework?"

I laughed unsteadily. "Uh-huh," I lied. "That's definitely what happened."

My cousin gave me a funny look, but if he saw through my lie, he didn't mention it. "Well, are you ready to go?" he asked, gesturing towards the front door. "Car's running."

I grabbed my phone from his outstretched hand, nodding carefully. "Sure, let's go."

As I followed him out of the house, I glanced at the phone screen once more. The message was still there, open and threatening. There was no way I could tell anyone about this. For all I knew it could be someone's sick joke. But, even if it wasn't and someone _knew_, I couldn't get anyone else involved without possibly revealing their supernatural life as well.

For now, this would have to remain as _my_ secret.

At least until I figured out what the hell was going on.

* * *

**Please review :) :)**


	14. Author's Note: Update :)

Hey everybody!

I just want you all to know that I have definitely not given up on this story! I'm so thankful for all your support and glad that you all love this story so much :) There's lots to come for this story, I just have to find the time to write. I'll attempt to update sometime in the next week, but if I don't, I'm out of school for summer in less than a month and I promise I'll update once a week during the summer. School has been crazy time consuming, but bear with me and I hope to get back writing ASAP. Please continue your support, it means so much!

Love you all!


	15. Chapter 12 - Caught Red-Handed

**SO SORRY for such a long wait! Did this chapter up for you guys tonight! Hope you enjoy it :) Keep on reviewing, thanks so much!**

* * *

"You're going to _what_ exactly?" I asked.

"We're going to teach you how to fight."

I looked my cousin up and down, an incredulous look upon my face. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Nope," Andy replied cheerfully.

We were in the middle of the forest behind Andy's house. It was the coldest day in La Push so far and I was bundled up in a long-sleeved shirt and a sweater, huddled against Noah for warmth on the large stump we sat on. _Not_ that I was complaining about the cold; considering _how_ warm the body heat radiating from Noah was.

Kevin, who was lying in the very middle of the clearing on his back, was throwing rock up in the air over and over again. He wasn't really paying attention to anything we were saying and had been completely silent since we had gotten here. It worried me; Kevin was _never_ quiet.

Momentarily ignoring Andy, I leaned closer to Noah. "Is Kevin okay?" I asked softly.

Noah sighed deeply. "We've been asking that same question since kindergarten."

I nudged him with a short laugh. "You know what I meant."

He kissed the edge of my nose. "Sorry kid, not my story to tell."

I glared at him mockingly. "What did I say about calling me kid?"

Noah leaned closer and pressed his soft lips against the hollow beneath my ear. My heart skipped a beat. "Sorry," he whispered huskily. "It's a habit, babe."

Shyly, I kissed the edge of his chin. "I like _that_ nickname better."

I had no idea where I had gotten the courage to say that, but it was out in the open and there was no way I could take it back now. I didn't know what Noah was going to say or if he was going to say anything at all, but I was almost afraid of what it would be. Even this early in our relationship—assuming that was the right term—I was afraid of rejection.

Luckily, I didn't have time to worry about it because Andy broke the spell in a very uncivil way; by which he took both of his hands and shoved one in Noah's face and one in mine, pushing our faces apart. "Noah, dude, that's my cousin."

I took the opportunity to bite Andy's palm. He ripped his hand away.

"_Ouch_!" he cried, glaring at me.

I hopped up, sticking my tongue out at him. "Oh, man up, _Andy-poo ."_

Noah sounded like he was going to choke on his own laughter. "_Andy-poo_?" he gasped, holding his stomach. "God that's awesome. I'm so telling the guys about that one; thanks Lissy."

I smiled back at him before I sauntered over to Kevin, plopping down beside him and crossing my legs. He didn't look up as I joined him; just continued to throw the stupid rock up and down, up and down. I watched it for a moment and when it was about to come back down into his hand, I snatched it from the air and threw it as far as I could away from us.

That got his attention. "Uncalled for, Lissy-loo," he murmured.

"What's wrong?" was all I said.

He sighed heavily.

I poked his nose. "Tell me."

He propped himself up on his elbow and shot me a calculating look. "You're seriously just like Noah, you know that?"

I cast a look at my imprint, who was currently engaged in a headlock match with Andy. Then, I looked back at Kevin. "Quit changing the subject."

Kevin frowned. He picked at a blade of grass. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

It took him several moments to come up with a response. "I'm a disappointment."

I stared at him in confusion. "What in the world are you talking about?"

He sat up, his eyes on the grass. "You don't get it, you know? You, Bronson, JJ—you're all exceptional kids. It's not the same in my house."

"Kevin," I said. "You're just as amazing as Avery and Connor."

His expression turned angry. "_No_, I'm _not_," he muttered exasperatedly. "Connor's the leader of the freaking _pack_. He's the Alpha—my Dad, he gloats about him all the time. 'Connor's so _mature_ and driven, why can't you be more like him?' Even Avery is better than me. He's the smartest kid at his school. They're thinking of letting him skip two grades once he hits high school. _Two_ fucking grades, Liss, that's what!"

I opened my mouth to say something but he continued on.

"And what am I? I get a B average _if_ I'm lucky. I don't have any _star qualities_. I change into a freaking werewolf, whoop-dee-freaking-do!"

"I'd have to say changing into a werewolf isn't something to scoff at, Kev."

He pulled out a large chunk of grass. "You don't get it," he repeated. "You're little miss _perfect_, Jacob Black's precious daughter; you can't do _anything_ wrong."

I was starting to lose my patience. "You _know_ what, Kevin," I said crossly. "I _do_ get it—I get it more than anyone else. You don't know what it's like to be a complete and utter failure. JJ and Bronson change into werewolves. I don't. And you know, I don't think I _ever _will. How do _you_ think _I_ feel? I let my father down. I'll never be a werewolf."

The words echoed in my mind. _I'll never be a werewolf._

How dare Kevin take his bad mood out on me! Did he even have a clue on what was going on in my life right now? My parents were still being completely secretive, JJ and I still weren't talking after the accident, I was still getting creepy text messages from an unknown culprit, and I was going to be _lucky_ if I managed a 50% pass in my history class. And he thought _his_ life was difficult?

Without another word, I stood up and gave him one cold look, before I started walking towards Andy's house. I was upset by Kevin's words, but I didn't want to show that they affected me. My feet carried me towards the path faster than they should have, but I didn't make any attempt to slow my pace.

"Liss," Kevin called from his spot on the grass. "Lissa, just wait; I'm _sorry_!"

I heard Noah walk towards Kevin. "_What_ did you do? Elissa, where are you going?"

"Home," I whispered. I knew they could all hear me.

The yelling ensued as I disappeared into the trees. "What the _fuck_ did you say to her?"

I tuned out the rest of the conversation. My feet carried me past Andy's house and towards my own. I wasn't sure if anyone was actually home, but I would wait out on the front porch all night long if it meant I didn't have to see Kevin and listen to his irrational thoughts.

It wasn't fair for Kevin to say what he did to me. Is that what other people thought too, that I was Jacob Black's _perfect_ daughter? I was in no way _perfect_. I messed up all the time.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

_If u don't stay away, I'll tell everyone._

I had to refrain from throwing my phone across the sidewalk. This was the second anonymous text message I had received this week alone. At first they had been creepy. Now, they were just starting to get on my nerves. Whoever this person was all talk, no action because I hadn't received any threatening actions yet. Anyone could threaten over a screen.

I wasn't necessarily worried about what this person would do to me. But I couldn't assume that someone was doing this just as a careless prank. If someone was taking the time to figure out my cell phone number and harass me through it, they had motives. I just had to figure out what they were.

It took me nearly fifteen minutes to walk home. I supposed I could have cut through the woods and ran home, but I managed to take my time and saunter along, lost in my thoughts. I was still angry at Kevin by the time I was walking up the long driveway to our secluded house.

"What do you mean you can't do it?"

The voice made me jump and instinctively, I turned around, expecting the person to be talking to me. But there was no one there. Instead, the voice was coming from the side of my house. Whoever it was sounded extremely fed up.

"What part do you not understand?"

I froze mid-step. That was JJ's voice. He sounded different. His voice was quiet and hollow; lifeless. Curious to what was going on, I tip-toed behind a bush and ducked down, peering around the side in hopes of figuring out what was going on.

JJ was standing with his arms crossed, leaning against one of the pillars on the front porch. He wore only a pair of cut-off shorts, suggesting that he was either just coming home from patrol or heading there. His dark hair was haphazard on his head and his face looked drained of energy. He looked exhausted.

I bit my lip as I felt tears prick my eyes. I hadn't spoken to JJ since the night he had acted like a complete ass at the beach. The night Trevor had attacked me. I couldn't help but be angry with him. Not only had he not been there that night because he had been hammered, but he really upset Bronson with what he said. And I couldn't forgive him for the latter. But as I watched him more closely, I realized then _how_ much I actually did miss my big brother.

"I thought I could trust you, JJ. Maybe I was wrong."

My head snapped up at the voice. The boy standing in front of my brother was not someone I recognized. He wasn't as tall as JJ, but was at least close to six feet. He had short blonde hair that stuck close to his head and he was bulky with muscle. Nothing compared to the wolf boys, but he was definitely familiar with where the gym was by the looks of things.

But what in the world were they talking about? Who was this kid and what did he want with JJ?

"I don't see the big deal," JJ snapped, his eyes flashing black. "I did what you guys needed. I'm off the hook."

"No way, dude," the other guy said. "We had a deal. You do this or it's off."

My brother looked over towards me and I ducked down, hoping he hadn't caught on that I was listening into them. Through the bush, I could see his eyes flash back to the guy in front of him in a matter of seconds.

"Fine," JJ agreed reluctantly. "When?"

"Tomorrow night. 8 o'clock at the usual place."

They shook hands.

"This is the last time," JJ said, his voice shaking.

The other guy laughed, shaking his head as he walked away. "We'll see, Black."

I waited until the guy walked back to his vehicle that he had parked across the road. I heard the engine start and him gun down the street. Then, I hopped up from behind the bush and walked back towards the driveway and continued up towards the front door, as if I had never eavesdropped on my brother's secret conversation in the first place.

But JJ was still standing there when I got close. His fists were clenched tight together and his eyes were closed. He looked angry. I tried to walk by without him seeing me, but my foot snapped a branch underneath it before I made it to the shelter of the porch. His eyes snapped open and he turned to face me.

"What are you doing here?" he asked sharply.

I sucked in a breath. _Great_. "I live here, in case you've forgotten."

The words slipped out of my mouth without a conscious agreement from my brain. I couldn't do this right now; talk to my brother like we hadn't ignored each other for over a month. Not today.

A look of guilt flashed in my brother's eyes for a moment and disappeared just as quickly. "Listen, Liss, we—"

I closed my eyes tightly. "JJ, don't you have somewhere to be?"

As if on cue, a high pitched howl sounded throughout the air. JJ's head snapped up and he cursed under his breath. Without another word he took off in a jog towards the forest behind our house and didn't look back at me once as he went.

I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding and continued inside. I hadn't seen my parents' car in the driveway when I had first arrived, but I knew Bronson was supposed to be home, working on a school project he had barely started.

"Hello?" I called, kicking off my shoes at the door. "Bronson?"

"In the den!"

I followed my twin brother's voice into the TV room at the opposite end of the house. Bronson was stretched across the entire couch, a bowl of chips in one hand and a can of pop in the other. Some sort of black and white horror film was playing on the big screen TV.

"Hey, what are you doing home?" he asked with concerned surprise. He sat up, making room for me beside him.

I sat down and nudged his English textbook with my foot. "See you've gotten a real good head start on this project, huh?" I needed to change the subject.

Bronson laughed and then yawned. "Yeah, I couldn't wrap my head around it. So I took a nap."

I studied my brother carefully. He looked nearly as tired as JJ had. Dark circles coloured his cheekbones.

"What?" Bronson asked.

"Are you okay?" I wondered softly.

He mussed my hair. "Of course I am."

I was about to ask him something else when the house phone ring shrilled in the silence. We both jumped and then looked at each other in surprise. No one called our house. Ever.

"I'll get it," Bronson muttered. I followed him into the kitchen, where the phone was located.

"Hello?" Bronson said.

I watched his face, trying to figure out what the other person was saying on the other line based on the expression on his face. He kept his face carefully straight, knowing I was watching him.

"No, she's here," Bronson said in confusion, casting a glance in my direction.

_Uh-oh_.

"She did, huh?" my brother murmured, raising his eyebrows. "Well, that wasn't very smart of her, was it? No need to worry, Auntie Rachel, I'm looking at her right now."

_Double uh-oh_.

I pulled out my cell phone and realized that I had several missed messages and phone calls from several members of the pack. I had never thought that perhaps leaving the field at Andy's in such an abrupt manner would have worried a lot of people. Judging by the annoyed look on my brother's face, I had done exactly that.

"Okay, thanks for letting me know…yup, here she is." He handed me the phone without a word.

"Hi," I said quietly.

"I could kill you, you know." Andy.

Something in me was relieved that it wasn't Noah, knowing the lecture I would get from him would have been much, much worse. Of course, the other part of me wished it had been him, because I felt deeply sorry for leaving without saying goodbye to him. But, I had my reasons.

"That's not very nice," I retorted.

"Liss." My cousin said.

I frowned. "What, Andy?"

"What happened?"

I sighed. "It's no big deal. I overreacted."

"Something tells me that's not entirely true," he mused.

"Can we just talk about this later? Please?"

"Only if you promise to never go off on your own again like that. Noah almost had a shit-fit, you know."

_Of course he did_.

"Andy, I'm not five years old," I grumbled.

"Elissa."

"Okay, _okay_," I cried with exasperation. "I'm sorry I left, Andy."

"That's all I needed to hear," my cousin cried happily. "See you at school tomorrow, Lissy-loo."

Then, he hung up.

I put the phone back on its cradle and stared at it in slight confusion. That had to have been the weirdest phone conversation I had ever had in my entire life. And of course, it had been with Andy.

"Elissa," Bronson said.

I turned to look at my brother, who now had his arms crossed and a very unimpressed look on his face. I vaguely wondered if he knew how much he looked like Dad when he did that.

"Is there something we need to discuss?" he asked carefully.

I should have known that he would overreact. It was obvious. Bronson always got uptight about things like this. I was about to blurt out some extremely convincing argument to save my butt when my cell phone buzzed loudly on the granite countertop.

"Saved by the bell," I murmured. I picked it up and pressed the "talk" button. "Hello?"

"Elissa," it was Aunt Alice, her voice breathless. "We've been calling all day. Is your mom home?"

"No," I whispered, worried by her tone. "Is everything alright?"

"No," she murmured in a stern tone. "It's not."

"What's going on?" I asked.

"That's what you need to tell me, young lady," she replied.

_Shit_.


	16. Chapter 13 - Tempers and Text Messages

**I just thought I'd point out that this story has reached 150 reviews. Now, as a writer, that is truly inspiring for me. I am so thankful for everyone that has reviewed and read this story. It's completely great that you all love it as much as I do :) So, again, sorry for the long wait, but here's the next chapter :) I appreciate your patience with me and I'm done school for the summer on Thursday, so HOPEFULLY after that I'll have much more time to right. I've been trying to make as much time as I can. Also, just a reminder to some reviewers that no one is forcing you to read my story. If you don't like it, then you don't have to read it. But those of you who do love it, I'm completely thankful for your support and there's plenty more to come for Elissa and Noah. Please keep reading and reviewing. Enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

I could count on my hand how many times I had ever been truly scared in my life. But, all of those times were nothing compared to how I felt as I watched my father's facial expressions change from bad to worse as he listened what Aunt Alice had to say over the phone. I sat tensely on one of the stools in the kitchen; sweat beading down my neck and my fingers clenched together so tightly that my knuckles were starting to turn white.

I had never felt like this before. My heart felt like it was about to leap right out of my chest and land on the floor in front of me. I had no idea what was going through my father's mind right now, but whatever it was, I knew it couldn't be good.

When I had just about hung up with Aunt Alice, my parents had walked through the door. Dad had taken one look at Bronson's face, one look at mine, and then demanded to be handed the phone. I hadn't even gotten a chance to explain what was going on. Though, I felt like after he talked to her, I probably wouldn't ever _get_ the chance.

Without looking up, I could feel my twin brother glaring daggers in my direction from across the island. I knew he was angry with me. Before we had moved here, my brother and I had told each other everything. Now, my life felt like it was overrun by secrets that I had no control over. I knew Bronson was mad that I hadn't told him.

"Well, no, we weren't aware…" Dad was saying.

A hand brushed my shoulders. It was Mom. She gently smoothed back my hair from my face, almost absent-mindedly.

I vaguely wondered why she didn't seem as angry as Dad. But then again, _no one_ was _ever_ as angry as Jacob Black.

"Okay," Dad said. "I've got to talk with Sam, but that should work. Yep, alright, thanks Alice."

He hung up the phone and the room went completely silent.

"Elissa Elizabeth Black," Dad said in his booming voice. "I believe you have something you need to explain to us."

Silently, I slid my cell phone across the table towards him. He studied my face momentarily, before he picked up my Blackberry and started scrolling through it.

"What's going on?" Bronson asked. His hand was now curled into a fist on the top of the counter.

"Hush, Bronson," Mom murmured, her eyes on Dad.

I waited, barely breathing, for my father to say anything. I tried to come up with some sort of valid explanation to why I kept it all a secret in the first place. I couldn't think of anything.

"Are these the only ones?" he asked finally, looking at me.

"Yeah," I whispered. "That's it."

"You don't know who's sending them?"

Bronson's head snapped up. He stretched a hand out to grab my phone, but Dad shook his head.

"No, I don't," I replied quietly.

Dad looked at my phone again. "And it didn't ever cross your mind that you should _tell_ someone that you're being sent threatening text messages from an anonymous source?"

I silently shook my head, afraid to speak. When he said it like that, it made keeping it all a secret seems completely and utterly stupid. Why hadn't I just told my parents in the first place? It would have saved me all this embarrassment. And then Dad wouldn't have made such a big deal about it.

Like he was doing right now.

"I _cannot_ believe you didn't tell anyone about this, Elissa!" Dad shouted. "What has gotten into you kids? Ever since we moved here, you've all become different and I am _sick_ and tired of it! Bronson is slacking off in school, you're keeping secrets from your mother and I, and JJ…" He sighed loudly and threw his hands up in the air. "We _never_ should have moved here."

My breath caught. "No, Daddy, we can't move back. I love it here. I'm sorry!"

I thought back to the very first day, walking into Sam and Emily's backyard and remembering how much I had been determined to hate La Push. There had been nothing I wanted more than to move back in with my mother's family. But, now, it was different. I had made friends—and _more_ than friends—and I actually felt like I _belonged here_.

I was _not_ leaving. They would have to carry me, kicking and screaming all the way back to Carlisle and Esme's mansion. I was _not _leaving Noah…and everyone else.

Dad rubbed his eyes over his face. "Just, go to your rooms; both of you. I don't want to hear anymore."

"Jacob, be reasonable," Mom murmured, brushing a hand over my shoulders.

"No, Renesmee," Dad said. "I am done being reasonable. I have some phone calls to make." And without waiting for a response, he stormed out of the room, cell phone in hand.

Dad never called Mom by her full name unless he was angry. The fact that he did just proved _how_ angry he actually was. It made me worried.

I jumped off my stool and turned to my mother, squeezing her hands tightly in mine. "Mom, is he serious?! We—we can't _leave_."

Mom smoothed down my hair, looking concerned. "Your father is just upset right now, honey. Just—just go to your rooms and I'll go and speak with him."

I watched my mother hurry out of the room in the direction Dad had disappeared into.

"I cannot believe you didn't tell me," Bronson whispered. His eyes went to my cell phone on the counter. I grabbed it before he could.

"I didn't tell anyone."

My brother stared at me. "Well you should have."

I followed my brother towards the stairs. "Bronson, just listen, I had my reasons…"

He spun around to face me. "Did you? Because the Elissa _I_ know would have told me about this right away! Threatening text messages aren't something to scoff at, Liss."

"I just didn't want anyone to get hurt," I whispered.

Bronson was looking at my face, but I felt like he was miles away. "A little late for that, don't you think?"

With that, he stormed up the rest of the stairs and slammed the door of his bedroom. I stood frozen on the stairs for a moment, before I growled under my breath and went into my own room. I flopped down onto my bed with a loud sigh.

This was just great. My twin brother, who I had never had serious fight with before today, completely hated my guts, my elder brother was completely MIA, and my parents were disappointed in my behaviour—something that had never, ever happened before in my entire life.

What was I going to do?

My phone buzzed in my hand, making me jump. I flipped it open to find a text message from Noah.

_We need to talk._

I felt my breath catch in my throat. This was not happening right now. This was _so_ not happening right now. I gulped, before forcing my shaking fingers to type a message in return.

_Now? Currently going thru complete fam meltdown._

The response was instantaneous. _It's really important. I need to c u._

I was confused. Was Noah angry with me as well? What had I done to deserve his hatred as well? Except leave the field without saying goodbye to him, fight with one of his best friends since early childhood, and you know, the whole fact that I was a vampire.

_Yeah, why would he be mad at you, Elissa_?

I took a deep breath before I typed a response.

_I can try & meet u later._ _Once I make sure Dad isn't gonna go wolf._

My phone buzzed. _Perf. C u then :) _

I felt the need to throw my phone across my room. I had no idea what kind of mood he was in. That was the one thing about texting; someone could be completely mad at you and you might not know based on the way you read the message. And that was how I felt after reading and re-reading Noah's messages. Confused.

A door slammed downstairs. And loud voices followed suit.

"Oh, JJ! Perfect timing," Dad yelled.

I heard JJ sigh, before he replied, "I'm not in the mood, Dad."

"You're not in the mood?! You're _not_ in the mood?" Dad shouted in disbelief. "Well, neither am I, JJ. And do you want to know _why_?"

"Not really."

"You see there," Dad cried. "_That's_ why I'm not in the mood; because my children have become unappreciative, secretive, disobedient _brats_! And as of right now, you're all _grounded_!"

"Fantastic," JJ said as he pounded up the stairs. I heard him pause momentarily outside my closed bedroom door, before he continued to his own room and shut the door behind him.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to keep the tears from escaping.

My family was broken.

And it was all because of me.

There was a knock at my bedroom door. I sat up and wiped away my tears, whispering that they could come in.

My mother poked her head inside my bedroom, her own face tear-streaked and tired.

"What's wrong, Mom?" I asked.

She sighed. "Pack your bags, honey. We're going to Alaska."

* * *

**Please review! :)**


	17. Chapter 14 - Fighting for Forgiveness

**So I'm out of school for the summer, which means lots of extra writing time! I do have other commitments that will be coming around in the next few weeks (I'm a competitive horseback rider), but I promise I will be updating as often as possible. Please try and be patient with me. I have every intention of writing as much as I can. So happy that you've all stuck with me. Enjoy this chapter and I plan on updating again sometime next week. (Best case scenario - updating once a week, worst case scenario - updating every two weeks) I promise not to leave you guys hanging for too long! **

**Don't forget to review! It means the world :)**

* * *

"You can't leave."

I looked across the table to where my cousin was sitting. He was stabbing his breakfast angrily with his fork, looking completely mesmerized by the process, but I knew without a doubt that he had been the one to speak. We were the only ones in the kitchen.

We were at Noah's house, eating breakfast at six o'clock in the morning. I was sitting on one of the chairs, pushing pancakes around on my plate every five minutes or so, not hungry at all but not wanting to hurt Emily's feelings. It was just too early.

Though, the early hour wasn't why my stomach was so upset. No, the nausea came from the fact that in the carry-on bag at my feet was an airline ticket for a first class, round trip to Denali, Alaska, in approximately eight hours. The thought of leaving the mushy green and wet for the cold, stark snow made me absolutely ill.

"Do I really have a choice?" I replied softly.

Andy didn't reply; he didn't need to. Instead, he grabbed another stack of pancakes from the middle of the table and added them to his plate to join his other demolished, half-eaten food. I felt bad for the pancakes.

Sam walked into the room and ruffled my hair softly as he passed by. I half-smiled in response. Ever since I had gotten closer with Noah, his father had become closer to me as well. He was almost like a second father and just as protective as my real one.

"Andy, are you going to leave any pancakes for your pack mates? Or are you just going to continue to destroy them on your plate?" Sam asked as he poured himself another cup of coffee.

"Actually, Uncle Sam, if it's okay, I think I'm gonna keep ripping them to pieces. It's good practice for when vampires show up. I'm just so dedicated to my job and—"

Sam held up a hand. "Forget I asked. But if we run out and your brothers get hungry, you have to make more."

Andy shot him a quick smile. "I can actually make pancakes, you know."

Sam patted him on the back. "I meant without burning down my house," he said, moving out of the room.

My cousin looked at me. "I _can_ cook."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure you can, Andy. No one doubted your cooking skills."

I didn't hear if he made some sort of smart response back, suddenly focused on the five boys running towards the back door from the forest. They shoved each other playfully, trying to beat one another to the door, no doubt trying to get the first pick of the food.

Little did they know that Andy had already destroyed most of it.

One other boy hung back from the rest. He walked quickly but with his head down, dragging his bare feet in the short grass as he walked. My eyes watched him, studied his every movement, wanting nothing more than to run into his arms and comfort all his sorrows. But I couldn't, knowing that he was upset over something I was unable to fix. It was the same thing I was upset over.

Alex, Mitch, Avery, Taylor and Jeremy bounded in the back door, crashing into each other. The younger wolves went straight to the food, loading piles and piles of it onto empty plates, while my two older cousins froze momentarily in the doorway, watching Andy and I carefully.

I heard something break outside, followed by an angry growl. I closed my eyes for a moment, before I pushed back my chair and stood up. I cleared my barely touched breakfast from the table, making room for the younger boys to sit down. I knew everyone was watching me, but I didn't dare turn around. I had to be strong.

I had nearly made it out the back door when Taylor grabbed my wrist, spinning me around carefully.

"Liss," he began carefully.

I shoved his hand away, biting my lower lip. "It's fine."

My cousin didn't look convinced. Neither did Jeremy, who had moved a little away from the door, close enough so he could still easily hear, but far enough to give us privacy.

"Just go easy on him," Taylor warned me, concern colouring his face. "And for God's sake, if he shows any sign of phasing, get the hell out. Okay?"

"I'll be careful," I muttered, embarrassed by his prying.

I skipped down the steps on the back porch, focusing on the scratchy feeling of the cement on my bare feet. My breath hitched in my throat nervously as I walked towards the tall figure crouched down against the side of Sam's workshop with his head in his hands.

My footsteps echoed in the silence and the wind rippled at my wavy, untamed hair. I watched his nostrils flare, catching my scent in the cold wind. Of course, there was no way I'd ever be able to sneak up on him.

I stopped several feet away from him, scared that he was still angry with me. I hadn't spoken with him since the day at Andy's three days ago, as I had been unable to convince my parents to let me go and see him that day. He didn't look up as I approached. I knew right then that he hated me.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice clear of any emotion.

My body shook with the mixture of cold and nerves. "I came to see you."

"Why didn't you come to see me three days ago?"

He was mad. I would have been too. I didn't blame him, but I knew the only way to get him to believe a single word I said was to tell him the truth. He was going to find out anyways. I was surprised he didn't already know with the way the pack was able to read each other's minds.

"Because my dear, darling parents wouldn't let me leave my house after they found out from my Aunt that I have been getting threatening text messages from an anonymous source and that I never told anyone about it," I whispered.

_That_ got his attention. His head snapped up and his eyes met mine, fierce with emotion. He didn't say anything for a long moment.

I felt my legs buckle and I quickly sat down on the damp grass, not wanting to make a fool of myself in front of him. It was hard to focus on him when I knew back inside the house, were at least three pairs of spying eyes peering out at us through the windows. There was never any privacy.

"_Please_ tell me you're joking," Noah said.

"I'm not."

His hands started to shake. I looked away, tears forming in my eyes. I felt awful. I had lied to everyone. My own family members were barely speaking to me, as well as to one another. My boyfriend, or friend, or _whatever_ he was, hated me. I honestly didn't know what I could do.

"You don't know who's sending them?" he asked, looking at me again.

I kept my eyes on the piece of wet grass I was shredding into a million pieces. "No."

"You didn't think you should, I don't know, _tell_ me about it?"

I sighed. "I didn't tell anyone, Noah."

"Well that was your first mistake, then." He stood up.

For a moment, I was worried he was going to leave me outside and never speak to me ever again. But, after what felt like the longest minute I had ever experienced, he sat down cross-legged in front of me. His warm, rough fingers tilted my chin up so I was looking at him.

I didn't expect for his expression to be so gentle.

"I'm not sure what you're used to," he began quietly. "But in the pack, we take things pretty seriously. Every imprint, every sibling, every parent is a member of the pack. There will be nothing that _ever_ changes that."

I flinched when his hands found mine, squeezing them tightly. His thumbs rubbed circles on my palms.

"The only thing I ever want is that you feel safe and that you trust me, Lissa. And if I'm confident that you feel that way, then I'll be happy as a clam for as long as I live."

Tears were rolling down my cheeks now. It was seriously the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to me.

Noah let go of my one hand to gently wipe away the tears from my face. "I love you, Liss, okay? And if anyone _ever_ threatens you with _anything_ at all, I want to be the first one to know about it. And if you can't find me, then you tell Andy, or Kevin, or _any_ member of the pack. We're a family, Liss. You're part of that family."

My brain felt like mush. Had he just told me he loved me? Had I heard him right? How many times had I held back telling him how I felt about him? Hours of hours of constant thinking about him, about how I could tell him without chasing him away. And he had gone and said it, so confidently, so nonchalantly.

So I did what I didn't realize I had the courage to do.

I leapt into his arms and kissed him.

For an awful moment, he didn't respond. And I nearly pulled back. What was I doing? He didn't love me—not like, like I wanted him to. I had completely read the signs wrong. I was such an idiot, so naïve. I went to pull away.

But his hands clasped my wrists and stopped me from moving. "What are you doing?" he asked breathily.

Before I could respond, his lips crashed into mine. Now, it was me, who was caught by surprise. It took me a moment, before I reciprocated, kissing him with all my heart. My heart thumped heavily in my chest, my lips moved softly against his, and too quickly, it was over.

It wasn't my first kiss; Trevor had robbed me of that experience. But, it was my first kiss with _Noah_, which was so much more important than any old kiss with anyone. And it was the best feeling in the world.

I had _kissed _Noah Uley.

I buried my face in his shirt-clad shoulder, hiding my blush. His hands left my wrists and settled on my back, drawing careful, soothing circles in my shoulder blades.

I let out a breathless laugh and managed to blubber. "I love you too."

Noah squeezed me against his chest, laughing as well. "I need to get mad at you more often."

I kept my face against his shirt. "I'm so sorry."

I felt his lips on the back of my neck. "You're forgiven, but on one condition."

"Anything," I whispered.

"That you _never_, _ever_ leave somewhere without telling someone where you're going, _ever_ again," he whispered in my ear, his breath tickling my neck.

I pulled back to look at him. "I already got the third degree from Andy about that."

"Well, since we've both warned you, you're sure to _never_ do it again," he teased. "Cause if you do, I'll probably have a heart attack."

I was about to respond when I heard the familiar sound of my father's SUV rolling up the driveway at the front of the house. I pulled away from Noah, so we were no longer touching and studied the blades of grass once more.

"I've got something to tell you," I whispered.

Noah's hand grabbed mine, lacing our fingers together. "What is it?"

I bit my lip. "I'm leaving. We're—we're going to Alaska."

His hand left mine. "You're leaving?" he asked, the hurt evident in his voice.

Tears pricked my eyes once more. "Not for forever," I said, trying not to cry. "Just—just until my family figures some things out; apparently my parents have been hiding stuff from us."

"How long are you going?"

I took a shuddering breath. "I don't know."

He didn't say anything and his silence caused my tears to spill over once more. I wiped at them furiously, trying to ignore the fact that here I was, at six o'clock in the morning, sobbing on my imprint's lawn like a big wimp.

"I don't want to go," I sobbed quietly.

Warm arms pulled me into his lap. He held me tightly, pressing his face against my cheek as I cried. I clutched his shirt in my fist, never wanting to let go of him ever again. I wouldn't leave him. I refused to.

"Shh, babe," he murmured in my ear, stroking my hair out of my face. "Don't cry, okay? We're going to figure this out. I promise."

I knew I was being ridiculous. We weren't leaving indefinitely, just for a couple weeks. But I couldn't help it; just the thought of being away from him for that long hurt. I couldn't leave him. Not after everything had happened. Not after what had _just_ happened.

I wiped my face, knowingly smudging my makeup all over. I didn't care; how I looked right now was the least of my problems. I needed to worry about how I was supposed to leave Noah for what could be close enough to a month.

How was I going to survive?

Noah pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead. "We should probably get off the wet grass before you catch a cold."

I shot him an impressed look. "Wet grass is not going to make me sick, Noah."

Using both hands, he pried me to my feet. "Not on my watch, it won't."

When we reached the back door, I hesitated. My parents were in there now, no doubt planning any way possible to keep me away from La Push as long as they can. I didn't want to see them. I was too angry.

Noah seemed to sense this. He squeezed my hand, our fingers intertwined. Then, he opened the back door and pulled me in after him.

The pack boys were still fighting over food at the table. Now, Bronson and Kevin had joined them. Neither boy looked in my direction as I entered the room, although they both were fully aware that I was there. I felt my shoulders slumped on their own accord. I had truly messed everything up.

Andy, however, wasn't one for awkward situations. He cleared his throat loudly. "Lissy, did you guys kiss and make up enough out there? Or do I need to beat Noah up? Because I don't mind; really, it'd be no trouble at all."

He was, however, good at _creating_ them.

I squeezed Noah's hand. "Um, no Andy, it's all been…made up."

Bronson stood up, his chair screeching across the linoleum floor. "You guys _kissed_?"

I made to move towards my brother. "Bronson, please, just—"

His eyes flashed angrily. "You have no right to say anything to me right now, Elissa. I'm talking to your big, _macho_ boyfriend, _not_ you."

His words hurt and I found myself tongue-tied.

Noah, though, had lots to say. "_Not_ that I think it's anyone else's business, but yes, we did kiss. That's what boyfriends and girlfriends do, you know."

I tried not to react too much to his words. If had just been the two of us, I probably would have turned around and kissed him until my head began to spin with lack of oxygen, but I knew that doing something like that would only make Bronson angrier. And by the look on his face at this moment, we didn't need him anymore angry than he already was.

"Look, Bronson, it's no big deal. It's not like I'm some random dude who went and kissed your sister for fun. You know we're imprints and that I really care about her."

Bronson started to shake. "Oh, you're _imprints_," he cried sarcastically. "Who gives a damn? You were _imprints_ when you nearly broke her into pieces the second day we moved here. Who's to say you won't do something like that again?"

"_Bronson_!" I cried desperately. This was not my sweet, caring twin brother.

"People make mistakes," Noah whispered. "I would never hurt Elissa intentionally. But I'll never forgive myself for hurting her that night."

"She never should have either," Bronson spat.

Kevin grabbed my brother by the shoulders as his shaking increased. I was suddenly pushed behind Noah, smothered between his back and the wall beside the back door. Andy angled his body towards Noah, but his eyes were trained on my blur of a brother. Everyone else seemed to be frozen in time.

Sam and Dad appeared in the doorway from the living room. Both paused, calculating the situation.

"Get him outside," Sam ordered calmly.

It took Kevin, Taylor, and Dad to push Bronson past Noah, Andy and I and out the back door. I didn't move from behind Noah as I heard the telltale ripping of clothes and the loud howl that came from my brother as he phased and disappeared into the forest, where several others were already on patrol.

I put my hands over my face, utterly embarrassed by the situation that had just occurred. What in the world had just happened?

"Elissa, are you alright?" Dad asked carefully. He was still standing in the doorway.

Noah spun around and placed his hands on my shoulders, studying my face. His lips were moving but I couldn't hear any sound coming out. I felt myself sway unsteadily and his arms were around me at once, his concerned, soft voice in my ear.

"Liss?"

It took me several moments to form a valid response. "I—I'm okay," I whispered. "I just need to sit down for—for a minute."

Noah guided me to a chair and I sat down on it heavily. I took the glass of water someone offered to me and downed it in a single gulp. I had never seen my brother so angry before. After a week of hardly any sleep, fighting with Noah, and watching my twin brother lose control, I guess I had just felt a little overwhelmed.

Noah's hand squeezed my knee, catching my attention. "Are you okay now?" he asked softly.

I nodded, tight-lipped and pale. I could tell that he didn't believe me, but I didn't have the energy to convince him otherwise. Everything just seemed to be falling apart all at once.

The backdoor flopped open and shut to reveal Kevin. He sat down at a chair directly across from me, his eyes trained on my face. When I didn't look up, he cleared his throat pointedly. "Can I have a minute alone with Lissa, guys?"

Noah glanced at me, silently asking if I was okay with that.

"Sure," I muttered. How could the morning possibly get any worse?

Everyone cleared out of the kitchen, including my father who I hadn't realized was still standing in the doorway. Andy squeezed my shoulder gently as he walked past and sent Kevin a look that I never wanted to be on the opposite side of.

Noah leaned down to hug me carefully so my face was buried in his chest. His lips gently brushed across my forehead and I felt him turn so he was looking at Kevin. I knew that he was saying something to Kevin over the top of my head.

"Relax, Noah," Kevin growled.

"I'm just saying," Noah responded, pulling away from me carefully. "That's your only warning." He gave my hand a squeeze. "Just holler if you need me, babe, okay?"

"I'll be fine."

Kevin waited until Noah had completely left the room before he turned his eyes back at me. His eyes studied my face carefully, but he remained silent. It took him several moments to actually form a sentence.

"Look, Liss," he began. His hands raked through his short hair anxiously. "I never meant to hurt you that other day. I was just in a bad mood and I took it out on you. I had no right to say those things to you and I really hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me. I'm really sorry."

Never in a million years had I expected to hear any of those words come out of Kevin's mouth. He was much too full of himself and cocky to utter a single apology to anyone, yet here he was, babbling on like his life depended on it. I felt bad that he was so torn up about it. Sure, his words had hurt me. A lot. But after all the other things that had happened afterwards, it didn't really seem like that big of a deal.

I wasn't going to let him get away with it that easily though. "Well," I said. "You have to promise that if you ever act like that big of an ass ever again, that I reserve the right to let Noah and Andy do whatever they just threatened your life with a few minutes ago. But, yes, I suppose I will forgive you."

Kevin laughed. "Since you haven't got a clue what they said, let me just say that if that's our deal, you can guarantee I'll _never_ act like a jerk again."

"I'm counting on it," I replied with a smile.

He stood up and came around to my side of the table, pulling me to my feet, before he surprisingly crushed me to his chest in a hug. Then, just as I was about to let go, he threw me over his shoulder and started spinning me around in circles.

"Kevin!" I shrieked, closing my eyes quickly as the kitchen began to spin. "Put me down before I puke all over Emily's floor!"

I wasn't sure what was with these boys and throwing me around like a ragdoll, but I knew if it continued, I was going to end up puking all over one of them at some point. And God, I hoped it would be Kevin.

"Elissa, can you come in here for a moment, please?" Mom called from the living room.

Kevin stopped immediately. He set me down on the ground carefully, keeping me steady until the room stopped spinning. He was looking at me with concern that I knew had nothing to do with the nausea he had created by flinging me around.

"What did I do now?" I whispered to him.

"Good luck," he said. He nudged me towards the doorway before he disappeared out the back door once more.

Taking a deep breath, I forced my feet in the direction of my mother's voice. There was nothing I wanted to do more than not have this conversation, but I figured getting it over and done with would just benefit me in the long run.

Mom, Dad, Emily, and Sam sat comfortably in the living room. They conversed about normal things, talking over the loud TV show that was momentarily forgotten about. But, you could see the tension in everyone's faces and body language. I knew the tenseness wasn't all from my brother's blowout moments ago, though I'm sure it was part of it. I suddenly wondered if the issue my parents were withholding from my siblings and I was not unknown by Noah's parents. I didn't get much of a chance to dwell on it once everyone caught sight of me in the room.

"Elissa," Dad murmured gently. "Have a seat, honey."

Those were the first words my father had uttered in my direction in the last forty-eight hours. I carefully and quickly decided to obey what he said; lest I cause anymore issues.

I looked around at the group of adults before me. "What's going on?"

Sam sighed loudly, pointedly, just barely shooting my father a noticeable glance before he threw his head back, resting it on the top of his Lazy-Boy chair and didn't say a word.

It was weird.

"We need to talk about Alaska," Dad said.

The words struck my heart heavily. There had been a time where I would have wanted nothing more than to hide out in Alaska, but now I couldn't even bear to think about it. I suddenly wished Noah was here, sitting with me. I wondered where he and everyone else had disappeared to, but I had the urge to run and join them.

I took a deep breath. "What about it?"

"There's been a change of plans."

I sat up straighter. "So we're not going?" I asked carefully.

"No," Mom murmured. "We _are_ going. But, Bronson will be staying here."

I tried not to react. "What are you talking about? Of course Bronson is coming with us."

This was easily explainable. My mother had simply lost her mind. Why in the world would my brother _not_ be coming? If anyone was staying back in La Push, it would be me. But since I wasn't allowed to, neither was my brother.

Dad sighed. "Honey, with the situation at hand, it's been decided that it would be better for Bronson to stay in La Push. We're not sure how long we'll be away and we can't possibly leave the pack without two of its members for that long. Connor needs him here to help."

I didn't really know how to respond. I was upset that Bronson wasn't coming to go through everything by my side. Even though we were fighting right now, I had expected for us to make up once we got back to Grandma Esme and Grandpa Carlisle's. I guess that wasn't going to be the case.

"Connor can't work the schedule around just for a little while?" I whispered.

Sam was the one who answered my question. "It would force everyone else to patrol extra and in return they would all be too tired to protect La Push fully. It just wouldn't be safe, Lissy."

I wanted to point out that Sam didn't need to talk so statistically. He _wasn't_ the Alpha anymore. But I managed to hold my tongue.

"Bronson is going to be staying with Sam and Emily until we get back," Mom told me.

That was just asking for trouble. Putting Noah and Bronson in the same house for an indefinite period of time was the easiest way to create a bloodbath between the two. But it gave me an idea.

"What about Bronson's plane ticket?" I asked.

"We'll just have to try and get a refund on it, I suppose," Mom said softly. "I never really thought about it."

_Man up, Elissa. Just hurry up and ask._

"What if I have a way to not waste the ticket?"

* * *

**I bet you can't guess what her idea is! ;) Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll update again soon. But please, please, please don't forget to review!:)**


	18. Chapter 15 - Bitter Cold

**As a Canadian, I just want to wish everyone a Happy Canada Day :) Loved all the response on the last chapter and hoping for even more on this one! Who knows...maybe reviewing more will get me to post the next chapter sooner ;)**

**Thanks again for all the support. Enjoy reading!**

* * *

"_Attention passengers. We are now arriving in Denali. We ask that you remain seated with your seatbelts on until the plane has safely landed and the Captain has turned off the seatbelt light. Have a great day and thank-you for flying with us!"_

Stretching, I sat up, wincing as my back cracked as I moved out of the permanent slouch position I had maintained throughout the flight. It hadn't been a long flight, only about 3 and ½ hours, but it felt like it had taken days. The entire duration I had spent lost in my thoughts, worrying over and over again about the status of my family.

My worries hadn't gone unnoticed by the people I was travelling with. Every so often, I had caught Dad sending me a concerned look from his seat across the aisle. I knew he had wanted to sit beside me, but I had refused, wanting to share the tense time with someone else instead. Turns out, that person too seemed overly concerned by my emotional state.

A hand squeezed mine, fingers intertwined together. I looked up from staring at my feet to see a pair of bright green eyes studying my face.

"Are you ready?" he murmured softly, gesturing his head towards the exit.

Without my realization, most of the passengers had already exited the plane into the airport. We were the only ones left, though I could see the edge of my mother's bright red carry-on inside the tunnel that connected the plane to the airport.

I nodded, taking a shuddering breath. I let him pull me out of my seat, throwing my carry-on hastily over my shoulder as I followed him off the plane.

No one said anything on the way to the baggage claim. I walked silently, pressed up against Noah's side to escape all the other people bustling around in the airport. It was extremely busy.

Ahead, my parents walked side-by-side. They weren't speaking and they weren't touching. They weren't even _looking_ at each other. I felt my stomach drop. Everything seemed much worse than I originally thought.

Noah's hand switched to move around my waist, pulling me closer to his side. "Relax," he whispered into my neck, placing a kiss on my collarbone. I shivered.

There was a soft growl to my left. My body turned to see JJ. His eyes were on the baggage claim as it spun round and round, but he was also watching us out the corner of his eye. The growl, I assumed, had been directed at Noah.

Noah didn't take any notice of my elder brother's sour mood—which seemed to be a permanent state that he was in—but I wasn't about to stand for it much longer.

"JJ, mind your own business and just look for your damn suitcase," I snapped.

I could tell he was shocked I had said anything to him. "It would be a lot easier to look for it if Noah kept his hands to himself over there."

I was about to tell him where he could put his suitcase once he had retrieved it, but my mother cleared her throat loudly.

"JJ, Elissa, we are out in public and there is no reason you two cannot act civil for at least a few hours." Her eyes met mine pleadingly. "Please don't make a scene."

"Sorry," I whispered.

After we all had located our suitcases, we followed my parents towards the large parking lot at the front of the airport, where, apparently, one of my uncles had kindly parked a car for us to drive to their house. As I stepped out of the airport doors, the bitter cold Alaskan air assaulted my lungs rather harshly. I was so used to the damp, warmness of Forks that I had forgotten how _cold_ it actually got in Denali.

And believe me, it was freezing.

But of course, the boys I was with barely noticed the temperature difference at all. I don't think Noah even _knew_ it was cold until he registered the fact that my teeth were chattering at an alarming rate.

"You should have put your coat in your carry-on like your Mom told you to," Noah murmured, chaffing my arms with his warm hands.

"I—I'll be f-fine," I stuttered. "We'll be in the c-car s-soon."

He laughed. "You're so stubborn."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "You're one t-to t-talk."

Dad whistled loudly, causing a few people to turn to look at him. "Car is over here."

Noah, JJ, and I trudged carefully through the icy parking lot in the direction of my father's voice. I walked slowly in between the two wolves, feeling awkward. How was I supposed to enjoy getting to know Noah better when he didn't get along with my brothers?

My foot slipped on a patch of ice and JJ steadied me without a word. He kept his hand on the small of my back, guiding me towards the vehicle. I didn't know what to do, what to say. This was the closest I had been to my brother in months.

My heart leapt in my chest suddenly, my body registering that I had nearly fell on my face. Didn't the airport staff ever think of putting salt down?

Mom and Dad were already inside the monstrous, silver Jeep that belonged to my Uncle Emmett. I leapt into the backseat, practically having to climb inside because of how high up it was. JJ hopped in easily, but unfortunately took the middle spot, leaving Noah to sit on the far end behind the driver's seat. I stared stonily ahead, knowing he did it on purpose.

The ride to Carlisle and Esme's was over a half-hour from the airport. They had built their house a very long time ago on the outskirts of the main town, to remain inconspicuous; wanting as much privacy from the other residents of the town as possible.

Once I could feel my fingers again, I reached down to pull my cell phone out of my bag. I had several missed text-messages. I opened the first.

_ Wish u were here rite now. Every1 is on edge and ur bro is being a huge pain in the ass. Let me kno that u got there ok. Ill call u tonite. – Andy._

I smiled softly at my cousin's message. He had been pretty upset when I had said goodbye to him earlier today, but he was relieved that Noah was able to go with me. I shook my head, remembering how worried he was about me being away from the pack. But despite his hard feelings, he did promise to keep me up to speed with all the drama happening back home.

_Home_. I sighed. I missed La Push already.

I quickly typed back a response. _We just got here. Its cold :( I miss u all SO much. Dont call until I give u the ok, cuz idk how everythings gonna go down once we get there. Keep an eye on B for me, make sure hes ok. Luv u Andy. - Lissa_

I also had a message from Jeremy, telling me he hoped I had a safe trip and that he was already excited for me to return back home. I smiled at his kind gesture, knowing how close Jere and I had gotten over the past few weeks; even closer since JJ and I had stopped talking.

The last message was from Kevin.

_Would u hate me if ur bro went missing? Bcause if not, b prepared. – K_

I had to refrain from laughing out loud. I quickly responded.

_Yes, I would hate u. B nice to Bronnie. – Lissa._

He responded right away. _Fine. B safe out there. Tell ur lover boy to give me a call later. _

_ Ok :)_ _Talk to u soon, Kev._ I typed back.

It was hard not to feel sad at all the messages I had gotten. I missed my pack family already. It was hard to believe how attached I had become to all of them so quickly. I wanted to go home and I wanted to go home _now_.

Before I threw my phone back in my bag, I refreshed my messages tab once more, sadly disappointed when "no new messages" flashed across the screen. I had hoped that there would have been a message from Bronson. After his freak out this morning, he had been sent right to a five hour patrol shift as punishment. I hadn't gotten to say goodbye to him. I _missed _him more than I could ever imagine. I was upset that he didn't seem to feel the same way.

I put my phone away and cast a glance out the window, watching the snowy trees blur by as Dad drove down the familiar highway towards our old home. It was beginning to snow rather heavily, leaving pretty white snowflakes pressed to the car windows in its haste.

I had to admit, even though I was angry with my parents for taking me away from my new life, I _was_ excited to see my mother's family. I wasn't completely ignorant; I had missed my aunts, uncles, and grandparents more than ever. Talking on the phone wasn't the same.

But I was worried that they wouldn't approve of Noah.

I let my eyes travel to the other side of the car. My ever so handsome imprint was staring out the window, watching the road travel beneath us. He looked tired. He smiled suddenly, without looking away from the glass and I knew he could feel my gaze on him.

I wondered if it had been the right idea to ask Noah to come with me. Of course I couldn't imagine being here right now without him, but I suddenly realized how selfish my request had been. I was taking him away from his family, his friends, and his pack brothers. How unfair was that? What if he hadn't even wanted to come? Was bringing him along with my own family that he hardly knew, all the while forcing him to leave behind the family he had grown up with his entire life the right thing to do?

I didn't know.

I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. I was an awful person.

JJ, on the other hand, still looked as angry as ever. His eyes were glued to his cell phone screen as he angrily typed away. His hands gripped his phone so tightly; it was a wonder that he didn't snap it in half. He smiled briefly, momentarily, when his phone buzzed.

He must have been texting Allie.

Despite how much we had grown apart, it hadn't gone unnoticed by me how well my brother and his imprint were getting on. As far as I knew, they were pretty serious and hadn't suffered through any arguments yet. My brother truly loved that girl; it was all over his face. I just hoped that she felt the same way about him. I didn't want him to get hurt.

It suddenly dawned on me. It was no wonder JJ was so bitter towards Noah. He was forced to leave his imprint behind for an unknown period of time, while I was able to bring mine along. He had every right to be angry, but at _me_, _not_ Noah.

I was _truly_ an awful person.

The road evened out and Dad slowed the Jeep, turning carefully in an almost-hidden driveway amongst a group of trees. He drove along the long, snowy path for several minutes until the familiar, comforting white mansion came into view.

I couldn't help but smile at its familiarity.

Dad circled around the front towards the side where he popped open the garage door and parked the Jeep amongst the other six vehicles inside. He turned off the ignition and I was immediately assaulted by the cold air again.

My parents wasted no time in getting out of the car. I sat in my seat, unmoving, watching my mother's eyes light up as she glanced at the house for a long moment. My poor mother; she missed her family. That much was obvious.

"Ness," Dad whispered as he opened the trunk. "Go inside. I've got the bags."

Tears pricked my eyes. My parents hadn't spoken to each other the entire trip here. It was good to hear Dad say something to Mom. I was beginning to get worried. Could imprints get a divorce? I never imagined something like this happening to _my_ parents. They had been a part of each other's lives for so, so many years. They _had_ to still love each other.

Right?

Mom didn't say anything in return, though. She just carried her carry-on with her, trudging quickly through the snow towards the front door. She didn't bother hiding her vampire speed and when she reached the door, it was thrown open and she was quickly pulled into the arms of my grandfather.

I could hear her crying.

Noah and my brother hopped out silently to help my father with the bags. I could hear my father quietly giving them instructions. They both agreed to whatever he said without a hitch.

I sat in my seat, unsure of what to do. I was incredibly nervous to go inside now. The last I had spoken to any one of my family, I had been arguing with Aunt Alice over my hidden text messages. What if they all hated me now? What if they were mad at me for bringing a possibility of everyone knowing what we were?

The door closest to me opened and Noah stood there, holding his suitcase and mine. His eyes were sad as he took in my tear-streaked face and he reached forward to carefully undo the off-road seatbelt that I had yet to remove. His hands gently brushed my face, wiping away any leftover tears.

"Lissy," he whispered sadly. "Your family is excited to see you again. Why aren't you coming in?"

I put my hands to my face. "What if they hate me now, Noah? I've ruined their family. Someone might know what we all are. It's all my fault!" My voice was muffled through my hands.

His warm hands were gentle as he pulled my fingers away from my face. "You're worrying over nothing," he murmured. "There is no way your family would _ever_ hate you, especially over something that you had _no_ control over. You hid those messages because you thought you could protect us. You did what everyone else would have done, too." His thumb brushed my trembling lower lip. "This is _not_ your fault."

I took a deep breath, before I nodded quickly, accepting what he said for now.

Noah's eyes searched mine. "I can tell you don't believe me, but I promise that it's the truth. C'mon inside, kiddo, okay? Everything is going to be just fine."

"What did I say about calling me that?" I complained, momentarily distracted. Maybe that was the reason he said it.

I leaned against his chest, burying my face in his warm, burgundy sweater and breathing in his piney scent. It was the most comforting smell in the entire world.

"It must have slipped my mind," he teased softly. His hands rubbed gently up and down my back. "Are you more relaxed now?"

I nodded into his chest and was rewarded with a soft kiss to the back of my head.

"Good," he said, helping me down to ground.

I hugged him quickly, knowing we would be out in the open for everyone to see now. I knew my parents were quite well aware of the status of Noah's and my relationship, but I wasn't hugely comfortable with showing it off in front of everyone.

"I can carry my bag," I said.

"Nope," Noah replied. "Gotta put my muscles to some use."

I rolled my eyes, slipping my hand into his free one instead. He smiled brightly, hefting our bags into his other arm easily before he led me towards the house. Our arms swung together as we walked.

My boots crunched on the snow beneath my feet as I walked nervously towards the house I had grown up in. My eyes followed along the edge of the house, studying the white brick and black shutters, the perfectly trimmed evergreen trees that lined along the one side of the house. Everything was immaculate; just as I expected it to be.

Noah nudged me ahead of him when we reached the front porch. He squeezed my hand sweetly before letting go, gently pushing his hand against my lower back to move me forward.

I took a deep breath before I stepped carefully on the porch, wincing as my feet clunked against the wood loudly. No way could I sneak inside now. Plus with Grandpa's mind reading ability and Aunt Alice's Sight, no one went unnoticed around here.

I hesitated at the front door.

"Right behind you, babe," Noah soothed.

_Here goes nothing_.

Counting to three under my breath, I pulled open the door, forcing a bright, happy smile onto my face. I needed to show how excited and _happy_ I was to be back in Alaska. I needed to do this for my family.

I expected too many hugs and "you look so grown up" on repeat.

But what I _didn't_ expect was to see a fist fly out in front of me and meet head on with my right eye.

And once again, I was sent sprawling to the ground. I glanced up in surprise, my head throbbing and my vision blurry with black spots.

"Wow," an unfamiliar, female voice laughed. "Now, _that_ worked out so much better than I ever expected it to."

* * *

**PLEASE review :) **


	19. Chapter 16 - Unwanted Surprise

**Thanks for all the reviews everyone! They mean the world :) Hoping to get to 200 reviews before the end of this story ;) **

**Anyways, enjoy the next chapter :)**

* * *

"I'll kill her," Noah was muttering under his breath.

I rolled my eyes from my spot on the countertop of Grandma Esme's kitchen. The movement hurt and I winced, gingerly holding the soggy icepack in my hand a little more firmly against the right side of my face. It throbbed angrily, but I tried not to take any notice.

I already knew it was going to bruise.

I was trying to understand why everyone seemed to think that beating me up was a much easier way to get to know me. I mean, didn't anyone know how to give a handshake anymore? I was certainly tired of being used as everyone's target for their anger.

The icepack began to drip, leaving splatters of ice-cold water on the knees of my light-washed jeans. I shivered and tried to brush the drops away with my fingers. It only made them worse.

"Here," Noah said. He gently took the icepack from me and tossed it in the sink across the room.

"Thanks," I whispered.

He walked back over from the sink and carefully took my chin in his hand, turning my face so he could get a better look at it in the light. The expression on his face said it all. His finger gently brushed along the edge of my cheekbone and I hissed; squeezing my eyes shut in response.

"Sorry, sorry," he murmured. He took his finger away and I felt his lips press against my forehead carefully. "It's gonna bruise like a bitch."

I let my eyes open again. Noah didn't normally swear too much in front of me, always claiming that it was "ungentlemanly to curse in front of the lady you one day hoped to marry." But knowing that he did, told me how angry he actually was and how difficult of a time he was having not actually following through with what he wanted to do.

"Fantastic," I muttered in exasperation.

He took my face in-between his hands, forcing me to meet his gaze. "Are you _sure_ you're okay?"

I think that he was more worked up about it than I was. And I was the one who got punched in the face.

"I'm fine," I soothed, reaching up to brush a piece of hair off his forehead. "It doesn't even hurt that much."

It _did_ hurt; more than I expected a punch to the face would. But he didn't need to know that. I was actually pretty proud of myself. I hadn't even cried when it happened, even though I had wanted to.

"Right," Noah agreed carefully, obviously not believing me.

"Do you need to go out and phase?" I asked quietly. "Blow off some steam?"

The last thing I needed was for him to get worked up right when we first got here.

"I'm okay," he promised softly. "As long as you're okay."

"I'm okay," I whispered.

He responded by grabbing a hold of my waist and sliding me forward towards him. I smiled shyly, locking my ankles around him and boldly leaning forward, pressing my lips to his. I felt him smile against my lips, before he started kissing me back, gently but firmly. My fingers locked themselves in his soft hair as I began to lose myself into the kiss.

But Noah pulled away suddenly. "Your grandpa's coming," he whispered, pressing a chaste kiss to my lips before he stepped away.

I pouted, unlocking my feet from around him. He smirked, brushing his thumb over my lips before he walked over to grab a chair from the table, sliding it towards where I was sitting.

Grandpa Carlisle and my father joined us in the room. Neither one looked overly thrilled. Dad subtly went over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water, while Carlisle made his way over to me.

"Let me have a quick look at your face, sweetheart," Grandpa Carlisle murmured.

"It's really not that bad," I protested. "Really, I'm totally—" My voice trailed off when his cold fingers gently prodded along my cheekbone. I closed my eyes.

"Does that hurt?" he asked softly.

I nodded, grimacing. I heard Noah shuffle in his chair, no doubt feeling antsy because of my reaction.

After a moment, Carlisle sighed. "I don't think there's anything broken and your vital signs look good, so no concussion either."

_Thank the Lord_.

"Do you want me to take her to the clinic just in case?" Carlisle asked, turning towards Dad.

My eyes widened. "I'm fine," I repeated. "It's just a black eye."

Dad sent me a stern look, before he turned to look at Carlisle. "If you're sure she's okay, then I don't really see the point in taking her in."

Carlisle gently touched my cheekbone once more and I winced. "We'll keep a close eye for the next couple days."

"I'm still not happy about this, Carlisle," Dad grumbled loudly.

_I_ wasn't happy that they were talking like I wasn't in the room. Did they forget that I was sitting right here?

"Neither am I, Jacob. It never should have happened," Carlisle said calmly.

"Well, that's what happens when you bring a strange vampire in your house."

_Wait, what_?

Noah seemed to be thinking along the same lines as I was. "Wait, that girl is a vampire?"

It couldn't be true. First of all, why wouldn't my parents have mentioned to me that there was a new vampire living with my family? And secondly, how had a punch from a vampire _not_ broken my face? I knew that I had a slightly stronger structure that came with being part vampire, but based on how hurt I had gotten since I moved to La Push, it wasn't _that_ much stronger.

"Is someone going to tell me what's going on?" I asked quietly.

Carlisle sighed. "Why don't we all go sit down, okay?"

Noah gently helped me off the counter. He had desperately tried not to react when he accidentally brushed his arm against my Grandpa's, but hadn't managed to. I tried not letting it get to me. For someone who hadn't spent a lot of time around _true_ vampires, he was acting with the most civil behaviour.

But sometimes it felt like I was the deciding vote between my vampire family and my werewolf one. It was hard to come to terms with the fact that they would probably _never_ get along with each other. It made me feel _that_ much worse for dragging Noah here along with me.

He had to be feeling so uncomfortable and severely outnumbered.

His lips met with my hair. "Stop getting so worked up about everything," he whispered.

It was like he could read my mind.

Dad cleared his throat loudly from behind us. Noah stepped away, like he had received an electric shock.

Normally, being caught hugging a boy in front of my father would have embarrassed me to no end. But, because I was so angry with him at the moment, I wasn't going to let him get away with installing fear within my very comforting boyfriend. So, I did what any angry teenage girl would do.

I turned around and shot my father the most un-lady-like look I could muster and then grabbed Noah's hand in mine, squeezing it tightly. I led him into the sitting room without looking back towards my father, knowing he was probably just livid with me at the moment.

Takes one to know one.

I had barely managed to step a single foot in the room before Aunt Rose had leapt out of her spot on the farthest couch in between my mother and Grandma Esme. She rushed over towards me and pulled me into her arms, gently crushing me to her chest.

Noah gave my hand a gentle squeeze before he let it go. I heard him move towards the couch closest to us and he sat down next to JJ, who hardly even acknowledged him.

I was much too happy to see Rose to worry about my imprint and my brother getting along. Instead, my attention was on trying not to cry like a big baby at how happy I was to see her.

Rose pulled back to hold me at arm's length. "Look at you," she cried. "You're all grown up! But, goodness, look at your face. What are we going to do with you?!"

I sniffled, smiling at her paternal behaviour. I hadn't realized until now how much I had missed them all. Especially Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmett; they were like my second pair of parents.

"I missed you, Aunt Rose," I whispered.

She smiled brightly. "Of course you did, honey." She pulled me into a tight hug again.

"Rose, darling, let her breathe," Grandma Esme said with a laugh.

She let me go carefully. "We'll catch up later then, sweetie." Then, she turned to shoot Noah a threatening look. "And you'll have to introduce me to the _wolf_, too."

"Aunt Rose!" I exclaimed.

My cheeks flamed at her words. It was a known fact that Rose had no tolerance for the wolves. Don't get me wrong, she loved my brothers to death, but any other werewolf, absolutely no way. Even when my Dad had first started getting close to my Mom, she had fought with him constantly. On the bad days, they still went at it.

Now, it was more amusing than threatening. I think they enjoyed bickering with one another more than anything.

"Rose, sit down please," Carlisle said sternly. He was seated on a kitchen chair at the front of the room.

This discussion was going to be a lot more serious than I wanted it to be.

I went to go grab a seat next to Noah, but a cold hand caught my wrist. I looked up to see Uncle Jasper smiling at me. He patted the large empty cushion beside him. "Don't you want to sit next to your favourite uncle?" he teased softly.

I smiled, before plunking down beside him. Jasper definitely _was_ my favourite. He was so caring and understanding. And his gift definitely came in handy every once in a while.

"Hi Uncle Jasper," I murmured, snuggling into his side.

His cold, strong arm came around me softly. "Good to see you, darlin'."

Once upon a time, Jasper would have had a hard time with me sitting next to him. As I was told, when Uncle Jasper and Aunt Alice first met each other, he had a difficult time adapting to my family's vegetarian vampire diet. But, I was surely glad he had managed to overcome those difficulties so I was able to create such a close relationship with him.

I had to say, growing up with both Jasper and Emmett had been exciting to say the least.

I looked around the room, noticing my grandparents, Uncle Emmett, Aunt Alice, as well as the unnamed vampire were missing. I hadn't seen any of them since they had pried the nutcase of a vampire _off_ of me. I assumed they must have taken her outside to either hunt or just get some air.

I hoped that she would stay out there.

Carlisle cleared his throat. "I understand that the kids need some catching up on everything that's happened?"

_Well that would be nice_.

"About time," JJ grumbled, leaning back against the couch.

"JJ, quiet," Mom demanded, sending him a meaningful look.

He managed to look properly ashamed, but kept his gaze on the floor.

I couldn't say that I didn't feel the same way. I was more than fed up with my parents being so secretive.

"Well," Carlisle began, catching everyone's attention. "A few months ago, just after you left for La Push, Alice had gotten a vision of a newborn army being created far north. Considering no one knows whether the Volturi is still intact, or if they're just hiding out, we realized we needed to go and intervene with its creation."

"What happened when you went there?" I couldn't help but ask. I was confused with how this had anything to do with what was going on.

Carlisle didn't seem to upset with my interruption. "Most of the newborns had been killed off. Either by each other or by another clan, we weren't sure. But it was an absolute mess, a disgrace."

I was mesmerized by the story, but also a little bit saddened. I loved being immortal, but it always upset me when people were selfish enough to bring uneducated people into our world. It was truly an awful thing.

Jasper's hand gently brushed my shoulders, obviously feeling my discomfort with the story. A moment later, the feeling was gone and replaced with a feeling of contentment and calmness. I leaned my head against his shoulder in appreciation.

"Before we left, Alice had a vision. A newborn vampire had badly injured a human girl a few blocks from our location. She was dying. So, I turned her."

My grandfather was known for his ways of using vampirism to cure human injuries. Most of my family had been saved this way. He was a very selfless person to do so.

"We brought her back here, to be a part of our family," Carlisle continued, smiling a little.

I started calculating in my mind how long this girl had been a vampire for. It had to be close to nearly four months. Surely, she should have adjusted by now. But instead, it seemed to be quite the opposite.

Carlisle seemed to read my mind. "As you all know, becoming a vampire affects everyone differently. Some have more difficulties accepting it than others. Some take longer than others at mastering the diet." He paused for a moment. "Tessa is having…issues."

_Tessa_. So that was her name.

"What kind of issues?" Noah asked carefully, sitting up straighter at Carlisle's words. "Is she dangerous?"

I couldn't help but notice how his eyes moved to me very quickly.

He was worried.

"Not in the sense you're thinking," Carlisle said. "Tessa has adjusted very well to our diet. She hasn't had any slipups and isn't overly affected by the smell of blood."

"Then what's her problem?" I wondered, unable to bite my tongue from asking.

"Tessa is…easily angered. She has no qualms with being a vampire, per say, but she's angry over the way it happened. She wishes she had a choice."

It was hard not to feel bad for _Tessa_. Vampirism had literally been forced on her. But, she didn't need to be so _unhappy_. Carlisle had saved her life, he had opened up his home to her; she needed to be a little more respectful.

And _not_ punch people in the face.

"So, what does this all mean?" JJ asked, sounding wary.

"We feel it would be beneficial for Tessa to be opened up to new challenges of the world. She needs friends and people she can trust; people who are closer to her age; people who share the same interests as she does." He sighed deeply. "She has a hard time with all of us, because we're so much older."

Warnings suddenly went off in my mind.

_Please don't be saying what I think you're about to say, please don't be—_

Dad sighed too. "Once we return to La Push, Tessa will be living with us."

_No_.

"Permanently."

* * *

**Bet you didn't see that one coming, huh? Keep an eye on Tessa guys, she's going to cause a few more problems in the near future ;) Hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to review :)**


	20. Chapter 17 - Tessa Bradshaw

**Here's the next chapter! Enjoy and keep those reviews coming :)**

* * *

Swirls and swirls of black, purple, and blue.

I grimaced.

I stood in front of the mirror in the ensuite bathroom in my old bedroom. It was early; much too early to even _think_ about being awake. But I couldn't sleep to save my life.

I also couldn't stop staring at my face.

It was an absolute mess. My right eye was nearly swollen shut, covered in deep bruises of various shades of black and blue. There was a long, angry red scratch that cut straight across my cheek, ending just behind my ear and starting at the corner of my nose. My cheekbone pushed uncomfortably at my skin, swollen and painful.

I looked like a clown.

And it was all because of _Tessa Bradshaw_.

I sighed, thinking back to yesterday.

After I had managed to get over the fact that a girl I had hardly met—never mind even _heard_ of—had punched me in the face before I had even stepped foot inside the house, all I could think about was how when I went back to La Push, I'd never have to see her ever again.

But that was apparently _not _the case, based on the long, winded discussion we had yesterday.

How could my parents make such a crucial decision without consulting my brothers or me first? Didn't our opinion matter? Didn't we have more than enough on our plate to have to deal with a psychotic, _angry_ newborn vampire?

I certainly thought so.

But my parents felt they had an obligation to bring Tessa back home with us. She would be safer in La Push, under the protection of the wolves. You see, should the Volturi ever decide to intervene—though everyone doubted that they ever would—they wouldn't do so in La Push. The Volturi was absolutely terrified of the wolves; they wouldn't come near them. But if Tessa stayed in Alaska, not only would she be putting herself at risk, but our whole family too.

So to La Push, she comes.

And not only was the strange girl going to be invading my personal space in my own home, but she kept inviting herself into my dreams without my consent. Actually, dreams were a rather incorrect term to use.

They were more like irrational, terrifying nightmares.

And as anyone would be able to tell by the telltale bags under my eyes from lack of sleep, the nightmares had kept me awake _all_ night long.

_Stupid Tessa Bradshaw_.

I stuck my tongue out rudely at my sorry-looking reflection before I left the bathroom, overly annoyed with the way I looked. It was going to take forever for the bruises to go away. I could only hope that they disappeared before we went back to La Push.

The wolves would have a heyday if they saw them.

I glanced at the alarm clock next to the queen sized bed. It was only 4:46, but I knew there was absolutely no way I would be able to get any sleep. Unable to bring myself to change out of my pajamas, I threw on an old sweatshirt of JJ's, and shoved my feet into a pair of fuzzy slippers.

I looked around, searching for my cell phone. I wanted to check my messages, knowing there would be quite a few. I had forgotten to text Andy back last night. I could have sworn that I had left it inside the big armoire in the far corner of my bedroom, right on the second shelf, but no such luck. Maybe I had left it downstairs.

Or maybe I was just losing my mind.

With a shrug, I tip-toed across the floor and quietly pulled open the door, hoping to remain as silent and unsuspecting as possible. The last thing I expected was to see a pair of liquid gold eyes peering at me with amusement.

"Oh my God," I whispered, holding a hand to my chest in surprise. My heart leapt uncomfortably.

Uncle Emmett had the decency to look at least a _little_ sorry. His eyes trained over my face carefully, studying me like I was an amoeba under a microscope. I glared at him, all the while trying to calm my out of control heartbeat.

I had forgotten how quietly they moved.

"Good morning, kiddo," Uncle Emmett bellowed happily.

I frowned. "Hardly," I muttered, moving around him towards the staircase.

"Is that the 'hello' I get?" Uncle Emmett said, unperturbed by crankiness. "After three and a half months of not getting to see my favourite niece, _that's_ the greeting I get?"

I rolled my eyes. "It's a little too early to feel all mushy, Uncle Em."

His cold hand flashed out and caught my wrist before I could make my way down the stairs. His eyes studied my face once more, looking momentarily serious.

"What?" I asked crossly.

He surprised me by pulling me into a tight, yet gentle hug. I felt the tenseness leave my shoulders as I squeezed him tightly around the middle. Emmett's hugs were the best.

"You're just like your grandpa," Emmett murmured into my hair. "Always worrying about everything all at once."

I sighed and tried to pull away. I didn't want a lecture this early in the morning.

Emmett mussed my hair softly, reluctantly letting me go. "Tess is gonna be on her best behaviour today, Lissy. Try not to worry about it, okay? I won't let anything happen."

I frowned at his words. _Tess_. He called her 'Tess'. It was a pet name; just like 'Lissy'. He was close to her, obviously. He liked her.

I was jealous.

Emmett was _my_ uncle. _Not_ hers. And I didn't feel like sharing today.

"Who said I was worried?" I finally said, trudging down the stairs without a look back.

I heard Emmett sigh, before he followed down behind me.

I knew I was being cranky. I knew I should have been more excited to see Uncle Em. But he was a traitor. He actually _liked_ that girl. It wasn't fair.

My vampire family, along with my parents were spread out in the kitchen and the sitting room, doing various activities. I could hear Mom and Dad talking quietly to Grandpa Carlisle and Grandma Esme in the kitchen, while Grandpa Edward was dueling Aunt Alice in a game of chess. Uncle Jasper was sitting nearby, his eyes trained on a nearly muted-volume news report on the big screen TV. I hurried over to sit next to him, doing my best to escape Uncle Emmett.

I was still cross with him.

"Morning, sweetheart," Uncle Jasper murmured, pulling me to his side.

"Hi," I grumbled. I pressed my face into his shoulder, trying to ignore Emmett.

I felt his lips press into my hair, before a feeling of tranquility flowed through my body, momentarily stunting my anger. I sighed deeply, keeping my face hidden.

"Everything alright?" he asked softly, obviously worried by my bout of anger.

"Fine," I muttered.

I lifted my head to watch Grandpa and Aunt Alice continue their chess game. As upset as I was, I couldn't help but smile as I watched them. Chess games between those two were always hilarious. Due to Grandpa's mind-reading abilities and Alice's Sight, neither one of them ever had to move any pieces. The game occurred constantly through their minds. Eventually, one of them would flick over their king, unable to continue with the game. It was always interesting to see who ended up winning.

"Checkmate," Alice murmured smugly.

I laughed.

"Lissa, honey, just listen—" Emmett began, sitting down on the couch opposite me and Jasper.

My laughter dissipated quickly.

I knew I was acting like a five year old, but I couldn't help it. While I was growing up, Emmett had been my rock. We had done so much together, spent so much time with one another, he was truly an important part in my life. The fact that within three months, he had replaced those feelings and installed them within a complete stranger really hurt my feelings. I thought what we had was sacred. He was my uncle, for goodness sake.

Grandpa sighed, at the game or at my thoughts I wasn't sure.

Alice nudged over her king figurine suddenly, frowning. "You win," she sighed.

Grandpa chuckled. "As if anyone expected anything different in the matter."

Alice stuck her tongue out at him. "Whatever," she huffed. "I'm going to go find Rose."

Her hand flicked out to ruffle my unruly hair softly as she glided out of the room towards the kitchen.

Emmett was _still_ trying to get my attention.

"Emmett, a word?" Grandpa murmured.

"Sure," Uncle Em replied carefully, still watching me. With a sigh, he got up and left the room, not bothering to wait for Grandpa.

Grandpa walked over and carefully framed my face in his cold hands, tilting my chin up so he could see my face. I kept my eyes down, embarrassed. I knew the bruises were awful.

His hand brushed my cheek carefully; before he leaned down to kiss my forehead. "I'll fix it," he promised.

As I watched him hurry out of the room in the direction Uncle Em, I realized this was one of those times that I was extremely thankful for my family's unusual gifts. This moment would have been a lot more awkward if Grandpa wasn't able to read my thoughts. And usually, I hated the lack of privacy.

Jasper hand ran over my hair absentmindedly.

I suddenly realized _how_ quiet the house actually was. "Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Rose, Bella, and Tessa went out early this morning for a hunt," Jasper informed me. "And JJ and Noah had some pack business to attend to out in the forest."

I supposed that explained the silence. If I hadn't been able to hear the softness of my mother's voice inside the kitchen, I would have thought that Jasper and I were completely alone. Not that I minded; peace and quiet was something I didn't get too often.

Jasper sighed suddenly. "I can hear your aunt calling my name."

I felt my shoulders slumped, but nodded. "Okay, go ahead."

He kissed my cheek as he stood. "I'll be back in a bit."

This trip back to Alaska was not how I wanted it to be. With all the chaos back home in La Push, I had hoped that cold Denali would have given me a much needed break from everything. But, as I sat all alone in the sitting room, I realized that was not the case. All my family seemed to be preoccupied with different things. I hadn't even gotten a chance to see Grandma Bella yet.

I was starting to wonder if this was actually a real visit, or just the way my parents wanted to introduce Tessa to us.

Either way, it sucked.

The backdoor banged open and shut.

"Morning kids," Dad called cheerfully.

He seemed to be in a much better mood.

"Breakfast will be ready momentarily," Grandma Esme said.

I heard loud footsteps pound into the sitting room and I quickly turned my eyes to the quiet TV, not wanting to be caught eavesdropping. I wasn't surprised to see JJ and Noah join me. JJ stretched out across the other couch, while Noah sat down next to me. His arms immediately went around me.

I was happy to see him. It amazed me how he was the only person who seemed to be able to calm me down. Even Jasper's gift wasn't as effective as Noah was. I rested my head on his chest, stretching out so I was completely leaning on him. Even after the short period of not seeing him, I had missed him.

"How are you feeling Lissy?" JJ asked with concern.

I wasn't really sure what our status was right now, but I'd play along if it meant fighting with one less person. "Honestly?" I asked. "Like I got hit by a truck."

"You should put some more ice on your eye," he said.

I snuggled closer to Noah, closing my eyes. "No thanks."

Noah laughed, leaning down to kiss the top of my head. His warm hand gently ran through my hair soothingly. I focused on his steady breathing, nearly falling asleep. Everything about him was just so calming.

"Did you not get any sleep?" Noah whispered, noticing my breathing even out.

I bit my lip, opening my eyes. "Not really."

His arms came around me tighter. "You can sleep right now, if you want."

"No thanks," I said again. The last thing I wanted was to have nightmares out in the open for everyone to see.

JJ held up his cell phone. "Andy wants you to call him, Liss."

"Yeah, I know."

"Aren't you going to?" he asked.

"Not now," I said, sitting up a little. "I'm sure you guys let it slip that I got beat up…_again_. So I'll let him cool down a bit before I give him a call."

Noah kissed my forehead, chuckling. "Smart girl."

I sat up, pulling my knees to my chest, resting my chin on them. I studied JJ for a moment, watching him type a message on his phone. I wanted to ask him if he had heard anything from Bronson. And considering he was being uncharacteristically nice at the moment, I was surely going to take advantage of it.

And if he decided to be a jerk, at least Noah was here to beat him up.

"JJ?" I asked quietly.

He looked up right away, looking at my face carefully. "What's up, baby sis?"

The nickname soothed my nerves a little.

"Have you—have you heard from Bronnie?"

My brother sighed. "He called me yesterday after his shift was done."

"Was he…okay?"

"He's not happy, if that's what you mean," JJ admitted. "He feels really bad Lissy, for how he treated you the other day."

Noah's chest rumbled with the start of a growl. "Good," he snapped. "He never should have said what he did."

JJ eyed Noah cautiously. "I know that. So does he."

I sighed. "I should call him."

I _missed_ him.

"No," Noah said. "Let him call you. You have to be the one to forgive him, not the other way around." His thumb brushed along my jaw. "You did _nothing_ wrong. This is _not_ your fault."

I sighed again.

"Noah's right, Liss," JJ said. "He was a total ass and if he wasn't my own brother, I would have pulverized him for it."

_Noah's right_? What was the world coming to? My older brother and my boyfriend…_were agreeing?_

"You acted that way too," I whispered, the words leaving my mouth without permission.

JJ looked down. "I know."

Noah untangled himself from underneath me. "I'll let you two talk," he whispered. He leaned down to gently press his lips to mine, not seeming to care that my older brother was in the same room. "Besides, I can smell bacon."

JJ didn't even look angry by the kiss. I supposed that with the way he had been acting, he didn't really reserve the right to be upset. I think he realized that.

I watched Noah leave, wishing he had just stayed with me, before I turned to look at my brother.

This wasn't really a conversation I was looking forward to having.

But at this moment, I needed my big brother more than anything.

And I just couldn't bear to fight with him anymore.

* * *

**Please review :) **


	21. Chapter 18 - Green Eyed Monster

**Yay we reached 200 reviews! Thanks for everyone for reviewing and keep reviewing please :) So, here's the next chapter and I apologize for the slightly long wait. And for all of you who asked about JJ and Elissa's conversation of them making up, I decided to leave it out. I do reference it in this chapter-which you will see when you read. But, I wanted you all to visualize it the way you wanted. This chapter is important because it builds what's going to be happening with Tessa (which is going to blow your minds...yay!). As Elissa and her family members start making up and getting along again, their family problems are going to be squashed by other issues. So, behold chapter 18! Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

_3x__2__ + 12 + 9x - 20 + 6x__2__ - x_

I stared at the equation, tapping my pencil on the edge of my notebook. I had been on this question of my algebra homework for the past fifteen minutes. It wasn't that I didn't understand how to do it; I found math relatively easy.

It's just that I couldn't seem to focus on it.

Before we had left for Denali, my teachers had been more than _generous_ to give me piles and piles of homework for the trip. They didn't want me to "get behind on the curriculum". But I had too many others things to think about to worry over getting my homework done on time.

I glanced at the clock again, watching the time tick away in front of me. With a loud, desperate sigh, I quickly scrawled out an answer to the equation and attempted to move onto the next one; only twelve more to go.

_2(x - 9) + 6(-x + 2) + 4x_

Ugh.

I tossed my pencil to the side and stretched, wincing as my arms cracked loudly. I needed a break. I hopped off the couch, yawning and curled my sock-covered toes together as I padded into the kitchen. It was _cold_.

Uncle Jasper and Grandpa Edward were quietly conversing at the kitchen counter. They had several piles of paper in front of them. There were numbers and numbers written out across pieces of stark white paper, along with a particular object that I had been searching out for days.

My cell phone.

"_Hey_," I exclaimed. I hurried over and snatched my phone up. "What are you doing with this? I've been looking everywhere for it!"

Grandpa raised his eyebrows. "We were just trying to track the number that sent you those messages."

"Oh," I said, embarrassed by my irrational behaviour. "Sorry. Do you need it back?"

Uncle Jasper shook his head. "No," he sighed. "We've got everything we can possible use to track it. Not having much luck though. Whoever is doing it knows what they're doing. They've somehow blocked their number."

"Strange," I muttered, confused with their technical talk.

I moved to the fridge and peered inside, feeling hungry but unsure of what I wanted. I knew it was close to dinner time, but I had been feeling more hungry than usual these past few days. I think it had something to do with how much I was consumed with worry these days; eating my feelings and all that good stuff.

"You're going to let the penguins out," Jasper teased after I had stood in front of the open fridge for several minutes.

"Shush," I grumbled.

"Do you want me to make you something?" Grandpa asked, amused by our bickering.

"No," I said with a sigh. I quickly chose a bright green apple and shut the door behind me.

"Wash it first," Grandpa reminded me when I went to take a bite.

_Right_. I nodded.

I walked over to the sink and ran the fruit under the steady stream of room-temperature water. My eyes wandered to the window above the sink that overlooked the backyard, a frown forming on my face.

Tessa, Uncle Emmett, and Aunt Rose were throwing a baseball back and forth, the speed of the ball nearly making it invisible in the air. They seemed to be having a great time, laughing whenever one of them missed a catch or ran into each other in the midst of receiving the ball.

"Liss?" Jasper asked softly.

I quickly looked away, a blush forming on my cheeks. This past week in Alaska had been hard for me. I couldn't help but feel jealous over the way my family had easily bonded with this strange girl. Especially Emmett and Rose; one of them always seemed to accompany her.

I didn't like it.

I felt replaced. It was preposterous to feel so, but I did. I had barely seen my aunt and uncle the entire week I had been here. After my argument with Emmett the other day, he had been extremely cautious when talking to me. I had forgiven him and apologized for my behaviour, but our relationship still seemed strained. He wasn't the same, joking uncle that I had grown to love.

But, as I watched them fool around with one another outside, I realized his mind was preoccupied elsewhere.

I had to remind myself that this house was more Tessa's home than my own now. Even though I had grown up here, I lived in La Push now. This was not my home. This was my Grandpa Carlisle's home.

I was just a visiting guest.

"Elissa," Grandpa Edward said sharply, looking at me with an expression mixed of sternness and concern.

I blushed again, before I quickly left the room, not in the mood for a lecture. It was hard to get used to living with a mind reader again. I wasn't used to having to sensor my thoughts anymore. I wanted to kick myself; Grandpa was sure to not keep those thoughts to himself.

The whole house was going to know what a whiny, sensitive person I was by the end of the day. Keeping secrets was _not_ one of Grandpa's strong suits.

My phone buzzed in my hand. I jumped, glancing down at the screen.

_ANDY_

I took a deep breath before pressed the 'talk' button.

"Hello," I whispered.

"You know it's been just _so_ long since I've talked to you last, I almost forgot what your voice sounded like."

I sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't call. I've been…preoccupied."

"So I heard," my cousin murmured. "Are you okay?"

Leave it to Andy to play mother hen. I knew I should have just kept avoiding his calls, like I had been the last two days. I didn't want him to overreact. I felt smothered enough with the way JJ and Noah had been acting.

"I'm fine, Andy. It's just a black eye."

I sat down on the edge of the couch. This felt like it was going to be a long conversation.

"Well, black eye or not, I'm not very impressed," Andy grumbled.

"Andy, really I'm okay," I lied. "It's hardly even a bruise anymore."

That wasn't exactly true, but Andy didn't need to know this.

"Oh, yeah?" Andy said. "Send me a picture of your face then."

I opened my mouth, trying to come up with some smart alack comment in return, but I felt tongue-tied.

Andy took my silence as an answer of its own. "That's what I thought."

I flopped down on the couch in frustration. "Please don't worry."

"I'll stop worrying when you get back to La Push," Andy replied, his voice softer now. "When are you coming home, Lissa?"

I felt tears prick my eyes. I missed my cousin so much.

I had the exact same conversation with my parents two nights ago. I wanted to go back to La Push. I wanted to be with Andy and Bronson and everyone else.

I wanted to go _home_.

"I don't know," I whispered sadly. "Soon, I hope."

"Me too," he murmured. "We all miss you."

I sniffled. "I miss you guys too."

Andy sighed. "Ok, well I'll call you again later tonight? Ok little cuz?"

I wiped the corners of my eyes. "Sure."

"Liss?"

"Yeah?" I whispered.

"Your brother wants to talk to you."

The phone suddenly felt like a million pounds. I nearly dropped it. What was I supposed to say? Did I want to talk to Bronson? Was I ready to forgive him?

"Okay."

I held my breath as I listened to shouting and then the telltale shuffle of the phone being passed around. I shouldn't have felt as nervous as I did just to speak to my own brother. But I _was_.

"Hey, Lissy," Bronson said.

A sob built up in my throat and I swallowed past it. "Hi."

"How are you?"

I bit my lip. "I can't deal with this Bronnie. I don't want things to be awkward between us."

My brother sighed. "I know," he said. "Me either. And whether you want to hear it or not, I'm really, really sorry; I never should have said those things to you. You did the right thing, keeping those messages to yourself. I never wanted to hurt you, Lissy."

I was really crying now. "It's okay."

"_No_, it _isn't_," Bronson exclaimed. "But I promise to make it up to you when you get back. I can't even begin to explain how sorry I am, Lissa."

I took a deep, shuddering breath. "You had every right to be angry, Bronnie. I should have told you what was going on the moment it all started. I'm sorry too."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for, okay?" Bronson soothed. "Let's just put this behind us. Connor's been giving me extra patrols for being such an ass."

Laughter bubbled on my lips. "Well tell him to stop, okay? I'm not angry anymore."

"I'm glad," he said, sighing with relief. "I miss you guys. Are you coming home soon?"

The backdoor slammed open and I watched Tessa slide across the hardwood floor and into the sitting room. She froze momentarily, catching sight of me spread out across the couch, causing me to stop breathing completely. She smirked at my reaction, sending me a smile full of her sharp, bright teeth, before she skipped up the stairs towards her room.

I _hated_ her.

"I don't know," I admitted softly. "Mom and Dad won't give me a solid answer. There have been…other things keeping them busy."

"So I heard," Bronson said. "Care to explain to me about your little mishap?"

I bit my cheek. Everyone back home had heard from JJ and Noah that some vampire had punched me in the face due to lack of control. It had been a total accident—which wasn't exactly the case. But what they didn't know was that she would be coming back to La Push with us. I knew that Dad had discussed it with Sam, but other than that, no one else knew. They wanted to tell them all at once.

"Too complicated," I laughed.

There were voices in the background, yelling at Bronson. I heard him sigh.

"Do you have to go?" I asked.

"Yeah," Bronson said. "I've got a patrol shift in about ten minutes."

I tried not to get too upset. "Okay, well call me later then? After your patrol?"

"Of course," he murmured. "You be safe out there, Lissy-loo. I'll see you soon."

"Okay," I whispered. "I love you, Bronnie. Have a good patrol."

"Love you too, baby sis."

The phone clicked.

It felt like there had been a weight lifted off my shoulders after the conversation with Bronson. I was glad that we were able to make up. I didn't like fighting with so many of my family. I needed my brother.

Tessa and Aunt Alice bounded down the stairs, both adorning specially-made baseball uniforms.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Alice smiled widely. "There's going to be a thunderstorm soon. We're going to play ball. Do you want to play too, Lissy? Your uniform is still hanging up in your room."

I used to love playing baseball with my family when I had lived here before. It was such a rush and a lot of fun to be a part of. I hadn't played in such a long time.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Tessa laughing loudly with Jasper and Rosalie in the kitchen. I felt my shoulders slump.

"Um, no thanks, Aunt Alice," I said. "I've got a lot of homework I need to do before I go back to La Push. And I think it's gonna be too crowded as it is."

Aunt Alice hurried over and pulled me into her lap. "Elissa, no one could _ever_ replace you. You're family, honey. No one replaces family. We all love you so much and we don't want you to feel like a stranger in your own home."

"Sorry," I mumbled.

She tilted my head up so I met her gaze. "I mean it, you _stop_ thinking like that."

I nodded, knowing I was being ridiculous. I couldn't help it though.

"And if you don't want to play, that's fine, but we need a score keeper," Alice said. "So you're _coming_."

I couldn't help but laugh at her persistence. "Okay, Aunt Alice, I'll come."

"Great!" she cried happily, clapping her hands. She pressed a quick kiss to my cheek, before she bounded out into the kitchen.

I silently got up and placed my half-finished homework on the nearby coffee table, before I went upstairs to change into some warmer clothes. If Aunt Alice was forcing me to go, then I wasn't going to suffer alone. I knew JJ and Noah were hiding out in JJ's room, playing some sort of video game. They were definitely coming with me.

"I'm on Emmett's team!" I heard Tessa yell from the kitchen.

I frowned.

Maybe a game of baseball would be a good thing.

Especially if a certain someone happened to land a baseball bat in the face.

_If only_…

I hurried up the stairs to the second floor of the house and pushed open the fourth door in the hallway. I poked my head around the door frame and giggled under my breath.

For two teenage werewolves that always bragged about their amazing hearing, they certainly hadn't noticed my sudden appearance now. Their eyes remained glued to the small flat screen TV on JJ's bedroom wall, their fingers pressing buttons constantly.

Not caring that I was about to completely interrupt their game, I leapt across the floor and jumped onto the big, queen sized bed. I landed sideways, my feet on JJ and my head in Noah's lap.

"Seriously, Liss?" JJ complained, angling his body around mine to see the screen.

After our very, very long talk yesterday, JJ and I were completely back to normal. We had spent a good hour in the living room, just dishing out things to each other. I think I spent the majority of it crying my eyes out and apologizing. I had never seen JJ look so utterly guilty in his entire life. But after putting everything that had happened in the past, I couldn't believe how relieved I was to have my big brother back in my life.

Noah discarded his controller completely. He leaned down and pressed his lips chastely to mine, rubbing his nose on my cheek sweetly.

"Hi," I murmured softly.

JJ shoved a pillow over my face, groaning. "Cut it out, you two."

I threw the pillow onto the ground. "Only if you guys promise to come suffer through a family baseball game with me; then I'll stop."

They both hesitated.

I sat up quickly. "Please," I begged. "Tessa is going to be there and I can't handle her on my own."

JJ sighed dramatically. "Someone should have told me that little sisters were such pain in the asses."

I didn't pay any attention to him, turning my pleading gaze to Noah. He studied my face for a moment, holding my hand, before his shoulders slumped visibly. I felt a small smile work its way to my face.

Noah nudged JJ with an elbow. "Are you really going to leave your little sister to fend for herself with a new vampire that's already proven herself to be volatile?"

He obviously didn't have much concern about hiding his hatred for Tessa.

JJ grumbled after a moment before he nodded. "Fine, we'll go," he cried. "Enough with the guilt trips."

I leaned over to kiss JJ's forehead and then pressed my lips tightly to Noah's for a long moment before I stood up.

"You owe me," JJ muttered.

I smiled happily as I dragged the two of them out of JJ's room.

Thank God for werewolves.

* * *

**Review, review, review! :) **


	22. Chapter 19 - A Blizzard of Tension

**Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has continually reviewed every single chapter. Your reviews mean the world to me, so thank you. Also, I would like to address that I realize that a few of you think I don't update often enough, but I would like to point out that I update once a week without fail. I apologize if you think that isn't enough, but I'm working all summer long and I do have other commitments. Life gets pretty busy sometimes, but I can assure you that I will continue to update once a week. Who knows, maybe I just like making you wait ;) Anyways, enjoy this chapter :)**

* * *

I awoke to yelling.

I shot up in surprise, rubbing my eyes with my hands wearily. I glanced at the clock, realizing I had only been asleep for about twenty minutes. I took a deep breath, pulling the massive blue blanket I was cocooned in back up to my chin as I shivered at the coldness. I yawned, smiling a little. Although it had been the shortest power nap of my life, it had certainly been the _best_.

My eyes went to the figure stretched out beside me. As if he could feel my gaze on him, his eyes opened blearily, studying my expression in confusion. He sat up quickly, his hands reaching out for me as he took in the look of concern on my face.

I allowed him to draw me close to his chest, feeling comforted by his presence.

We had been watching some stupid, action movie that he had picked out, trying to ignore the fact that outside the house, a huge blizzard had ensued, making it practically impossible to leave the house unless you enjoyed freezing to death. I hadn't particularly cared _what_ movie we watched, as long as it meant getting some alone time with him.

I had immediately felt awful when I woke up, realizing I had fallen asleep on him. But seeing the sleepy look in his eyes, I knew I hadn't been the only one who had given into exhaustion.

It had been a long couple days.

"What's wrong, baby?" Noah murmured, running a hand through my hair.

I opened my mouth, about to answer when I was interrupted by another spout of yelling from downstairs. I couldn't help it; I flinched. That was Dad shouting and based on the noise-level he had reached with his voice—he _wasn't_ happy.

Normally, confrontations didn't upset me too much. I didn't like being yelled at or even hearing people yell at one another, but I could handle it if need be. The fact that I was reacting so strongly at hearing my werewolf father _lose_ his temper—something that tended to happen on a regular basis—showed just how much had been thrown into my life at once. I was overwhelmed.

The past few days in Alaska had been surprisingly better than the first week. I was on much better terms with JJ and my parents had seemed to regain their sense of love-sickness with one another. I had even managed to steal Uncle Em for a few hours to myself, getting my ass kicked at a video game, but mind you I still enjoyed the bonding experience. Everything had been a lot better.

I mean, Tessa was _still_ here. And she was _still_ coming to La Push. But that was beside the point.

But hearing my Dad, my more-than-often, happy-go-lucky father, downright scream his head off at someone downstairs nearly ripped my heart into two. I thought that everyone had made up. I thought that we had fixed everything.

So why was he still angry?

A warm hand tilted my chin up and I found myself looking into Noah's bottomless eyes, which were peering back at me with cautiousness and concern. I had forgotten I hadn't answered him yet.

"Tell me what's wrong," he demanded softly.

My hands trembled. "I t-thought everyone was happy again," I cried in exasperation. "I thought I had fixed everything."

Noah's face softened at my response. He pulled me to his chest again, wrapping his arms around my lower back carefully. I felt his lips press themselves to the hollow beneath my right ear, making me shudder. Tears tracked down my face at an alarming rate and he sighed deeply.

"Shhh," he soothed. "I'm right here, shhh."

I sucked in a shaky breath, leaning back to wipe the back of my head across my face in hopes of removing any traces of tears. What in the world was wrong with me? Why was I being such a wimp?

"Lissa," he murmured. "You can't possibly believe that your family's happiness only survives on your tactics. It's a group effort, honey. You can't blame yourself for every little thing that goes wrong. _None of this is your fault_. How many times do I have to tell you that before you believe it?"

I shivered. "I just want everyone to be happy."

Noah's fingers gently caught a tear travelling down my cheek. "Are you happy?" he asked.

I didn't even have to think about it. "Of course," I said. I was always happy when Noah was around.

His nose brushed against my cheek as he leaned towards me. "Then that's all the matters," he whispered.

How had I managed to get someone as amazing as Noah was in my life? I was eternally grateful for how wonderful he was. Each day, I fell more and more in love with him.

He pressed his lips to my temple. "You are the most selfless person I have ever met, you know that?" he murmured. "I can't even begin to fathom how amazing you are. I am so lucky to have you."

I couldn't take it anymore. I leaned forward and pressed my lips shakily to his, still upset over my family's arguing. His hands were all over my face as he deepened the kiss, his tongue gently sliding across my lower lip. I gasped and he smirked cockily against my lips, before he pulled away. His lips didn't leave my skin and they peppered small kisses around my neck and across my collarbone, causing the room to spin and my breath to become uneven.

"Look at me," he ordered huskily. I did. "I _love_ you so, so much. But, baby, you can't fix every _little_ thing all the time. No one expects you to and if you keep trying to, you're going to make yourself sick with worry. Okay?"

I nodded, still trying to regain my breath. Just his close proximity alone was enough to push me over the edge. A tiny smirk played on the edge of his lips, despite the seriousness of his tone. I had to get better at hiding my emotions; he could easily sense the effect he had over me.

"Do you promise?" he asked softly. "No more worrying over stuff you can't help?"

I nodded again, blushing slightly.

His lips were suddenly against my throat. "Say it."

My fingers gripped his forearms. "I-I p-promise."

I was awarded with a kiss that made my toes curl and my head spin.

He laughed softly, pulling my flushed face to his shoulder.

I caught onto what he was doing and pulled away, a look of disbelief on my face.

"You distracted me," I accused sourly.

His fingers danced up and down my arms. "Maybe," he admitted, smiling. "Are you saying you didn't enjoy it?"

I shook my head back and forth. "No," I told him honestly. "But if we're going to play like that, you better watch your back."

His smirk grew. "Is that a threat, baby?" he whispered.

"You bet."

A smash came from downstairs, causing me to remember why I was so uptight in the first place. With a sigh, I untangled myself from Noah, much to his dismay, and unraveled the blanket from around me. I stood up, wrapping my arms around myself in attempt to get used to the change in temperature. I forgot _how_ warm Noah was sometimes.

"Where are you going?" he asked, holding his hand out to me with a pout.

My eyes travelled to my nearly-closed bedroom door. I wasn't allowed to keep the door shut with Noah in my room; that was very clear. Dad had thoroughly explained to me the other night that if he ever caught Noah anywhere near me, he would bury him in the snow drift in the backyard and leave him there while we returned to La Push. The thing was, I didn't believe he was bluffing at all.

I looked back to him. "I need to go down there."

He groaned. But instead of trying to convince me otherwise, he stood up, stretching his arms up in the air as he yawned. Then, he reached over to me and carefully pulled down my baby blue cotton t-shirt, which I hadn't noticed had ridden up, revealing a small section of my tanned stomach. I blushed fiercely.

Noah winked before he grabbed my hand and started towards the door.

"What are you doing?" I asked, planting my feet on the hardwood floor to stop him. He ended up just dragging me several feet until he turned to look at me.

"Like I'd let you go down there on your own without knowing what the situation was," he scoffed.

I sighed. "It's just my Dad losing his patience with someone."

"Exactly," he said, his eyes serious. "Your _dad,_ who just _happens_ to turn into a really big wolf. Did you forget _how_ that happens?"

I opened my mouth to interrupt him and was surprised when his warm hand covered my mouth.

"Either I come with you, or you sit here on your bed," he said, shrugging unapologetically.

I loved his protectiveness, but sometimes he took it way too far. I was perfectly capable of walking down the stairs to see what Dad was so angry about. I didn't need Noah to hold my hand and make sure that I got there okay. I could take care of myself.

But I knew that he wouldn't go for that and if I didn't let him come with me, he'd probably sit on me just to keep me upstairs. I couldn't get too angry; I knew how scared he got about my safety. I knew he was only acting like that because he cared so much.

I just wished he would tone it down a few notches.

"Fine," I muttered unhappily.

Noah's fingers intertwined with mine and he gently kissed the corner of my mouth. "Thank you."

I didn't respond. I opened the door, wincing as it squeaked from its movement. I cautiously lead Noah down the stairs behind me, biting my lip nervously the entire time. When we got to the bottom, I forced myself to let go of his hand, knowing that holding hands would only infuriate my father further.

We walked silently to the sitting room and what I saw was not what I expected.

Dad was _yelling_ at JJ. His face was flushed, his teeth were clenched, his hands were in fists; he was _pissed_.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Mom appeared at the doorway, ushering us away and into the empty kitchen. She shook her head, running a hand through her hair, before she went to the kettle and flipped the switch, starting to boil the water that was inside it.

I let Noah guide me to one of the stools at the island, watching my mother carefully.

"Mom?" I said, making my voice louder than normal.

She looked up from staring off into space, sighing. "What, honey?"

"What's going _on_?" I asked again.

Mom waved her hand back in forth in the air. "Oh, your brother has just gotten himself into more trouble."

I raised my eyebrows. My hand squeezed Noah's tightly. "What kind of trouble?"

"Your school just called us about an hour ago," she said softly. "Apparently, JJ and a few other students broke into your school a few weeks ago and threw a party inside the gym."

Noah laughed and I turned to stare at him, causing him to sober up immediately. "Sorry," he apologized, kissing my cheek. "You've got to admit, it's kind of funny."

I thought it was kind of _stupid_, but I didn't say so. It must have been a _boy_ thing.

"And that's all it would have been," Mom continued. "Just a joke; except one of the windows was smashed and one of the kids that went had to get their stomach pumped from consuming too much alcohol."

Definitely _stupid_.

I frowned. "When did this happen?"

"The night before we left for Alaska. Friday night."

I froze. That was the day I had fought with Kevin in the field behind Andy's house; the day I had caught JJ and that _weird_ guy talking outside our house. _That_ must have been what they had been discussing.

"Let me guess," I said. "JJ broke in for them." The idiot had probably used his super-strength the break the lock and then decoded the school alarm.

Mom nodded. "He's lucky—they're _all_ lucky no one was seriously hurt. When will you kids learn that there are _reasons_ parents set rules. And for future reference, when I say _no drinking_, I _mean it_."

And here I was thinking _Dad_ was the one who was angry. Mom definitely put him to shame.

"Is he going to be charged?" Noah asked suddenly. His hand appeared on the small of my back, the warmth from his fingertips radiating through my entire body.

"The principal and school council has agreed to let it off with a warning. Your father pulled some strings," she admitted with a small smile. "But JJ is _not_ getting off easy. He, along with several of the other students that were caught in the very first place, is subjected to two months of community service to make up from the damaged property in the school."

As if to prove her point, Dad's voice got louder in the sitting room. "From this point forward, you go to school, you come home, you do your homework, and you do your patrol. That's _it_. Do I make myself clear?" There was silence for a moment. "Go to your room."

I couldn't believe my brother hadn't himself into so much trouble again. He either needed to _stop_ drinking like an out of control teenager, or find some new "friends" to hang out with. But, judging by the angry gleam in my mother's eye, they weren't going to let him out of their sight for the next little while.

Dad joined us in the kitchen, grumbling angrily under his breath until he noticed that Mom wasn't alone. He stood in the doorway and crossed his arms, shaking his head.

"You kids are going to be the death of me," he snapped angrily.

I flinched and Noah frowned.

"Jacob, calm down," Mom demanded, pointing a finger at him.

He took a deep breath, immediately obeying my mother.

Then, he turned to look at me and Noah. "You kids are no longer allowed to hang out with anyone outside the pack, or affiliated with it. Do you understand?"

"Yes," I whispered. Not like that was going to happen for me, anyhow.

Dad looked at Noah, who nodded quickly, realizing it was implied for the both of us.

"Did you book the flights?" Dad asked suddenly, sounding a lot calmer than before.

The words were like music to my ears. "Does that mean—?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Yes."

I squealed with happiness, bolting off my stool to catapult myself into my father's arms. He laughed, squeezing me tightly to him, kissing the top of my head gently.

"Thank you, Daddy! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

He patted my back carefully before releasing me. "Go pack," he chuckled.

I skipped over and pulled Noah out of his seat, pulling him along with me out of the room.

We were _finally_ going back home.

* * *

**So, some more things revealed, huh? And they're going back to La Push, yay! Hope you liked it. Please, please review :) **


	23. Chapter 20 - La Push I Missed You So

**A new chapter has arrived :) Hope you enjoy it - one big twist coming your way ;)**

**REVIEW!**

* * *

I had never imagined that there could be anything worse than getting caught in the rain.

Until this morning.

I sat on a large, misshaped rock, watching the waves brutally crash into the bottom of the cliffs in the early morning. It was drizzling, the kind of mist that just sat in the air for hours and hours with relent.

And I was _soaked_.

I pulled my hood closer to the edge of my face, shivering. It had been an awful, _stupid_ idea to come out here in weather like this, but I was desperate. My house was just a little too _crowded_ for my liking.

We had gotten back late yesterday; around midnight. We had quickly dropped off Noah at his own house, much to my dismay, and then had headed home to try and get a decent night's sleep. Bronson had a three hour patrol that had started at 11, so he had planned on spending the night at Andy's, which means I wouldn't see him until later this morning, when everyone was meeting at Uncle Paul's for breakfast.

I had tried to sleep the moment we had gotten home, feeling mentally exhausted, but I had just lay in bed for hours, tossing and turning. I had given up around four in the morning and had snuck out my bedroom window, walking here—to First Beach.

Right where it all started.

I should have felt afraid of this spot. This spot where I had gotten hurt, on my second day of living here. But, I wasn't. I could have dwelled on the fact that this very spot had complicated my whole life.

But I didn't want to.

I had met Noah here. He had imprinted on me. And it had changed my life.

And God was I ever glad.

I smiled, leaning my chin down on the edge of my damp, frayed jeans. I was such a lucky girl. I had made new friends—real friends—and I had met the love of my life, all in the same place, at the same time. And I was _happy_.

I didn't know how long I had sat there, watching the tide slow down and the fog dissipate, but before I knew it, my eyelids began to droop on their own accord. Yeah, this was a really _stupid_ idea.

A twig snapped somewhere to my left, close to the forest that sat on the edge of the beach and my eyes popped open. I froze in my spot, waiting, but there wasn't another sound. My head swiveled around, studying my surroundings, but there was no one there.

Had I imagined it?

"Elissa Black!" a voice boomed to my immediate left.

I jumped about fifty feet in the air.

Jeremy and Taylor casually strolled out of the forest, huge matching grins on their faces. Despite the dreary weather, they both wore a pair of cut-off shorts and nothing else. Their big strides covered the distance between the forest and the cliffs in no time.

I smiled at them, relieved, as I tried to control my breathing. I knew they had scared the utter crap out of me on purpose, but it was hard to be mad at them when I was so happy to see them.

Jeremy's grin nearly took over his entire face. He ran the last few steps to me, wrapping his toasty warm arms around my body, lifting me halfway off the rock in his haste.

"My little trouble-maker has returned," he crowed happily.

Only the boys in my family could be _this_ energetic at what had to be around seven o'clock in the morning. I shook my head at his exuberance and shivered as he placed me back on the rock, his warmth disappearing with his arms.

Taylor reached us then, smiling. He leaned down to plant a brotherly kiss on the crown of my head before his knuckles gently mussed my hair all over my face.

I laughed, pushing his hand away. "The rain has already destroyed my hair, was _that_ completely necessary?"

"Absolutely," Taylor exclaimed straight-faced.

"Speaking of rain," Jeremy said. "What in the world gave you the idea to come and sit out here in this crap?" He tilted his head up to the sky, wincing as irritating drops of rain pierced his face. "I _hate_ this type of rain. Means the snow is almost here."

I grumbled in frustration. I had just _escaped_ the snow by coming back here.

The wind picked up and I shivered again.

Taylor rolled his eyes. "You truly are an idiot," he muttered.

In one fluid movement, I was off the rock and into Taylor's arms. Despite the fact that I resented being carried around like a four year old, his chest was radiating enough heat to warm up my entire body, so I didn't complain. I did however; bury my face in his shoulder as the rain began to pick up.

"Fuck, you're freezing," Taylor cursed. "I swear you shouldn't be allowed to leave your house without one of those leash things that parents use on two year olds."

Jeremy laughed loudly. "Aw, c'mon, Tay, she's not nearly as bad as Andy used to be."

I perked up, sensing an embarrassing story on Andy's behalf.

But all Taylor did was smirk secretively, before the two of them started towards the forest once more, me in tow.

Thankfully, Taylor knew a shortcut to his house through the forest and we had reached it before the sun had completely risen in the sky. He gently placed me on the top step of the porch, before he popped open the front door, ushering Jere and I in ahead of him.

"I'm home!" Taylor shouted.

I spun around to stare at him with an incredulous. Did he realize what _time_ it was?

"Don't look at me like that," he muttered. "She's been up since five thirty baking her heart out for this stupid gathering."

Jeremy's eyes lit up at the mention of food and he quickly squeezed me to his side once more before he bounded off in the direction of the kitchen.

I went to follow him, knowing Aunt Rachel would probably need all the help she could get to cook enough to last with all these boys around but Taylor caught my wrist.

"How are you?" he asked.

I raised my eyebrows. "I'm fine, Tay, really."

My cousin's eyes trailed all over my face, searching for non-existent bruises.

"No damage done," I promised, squeezing his hand.

He frowned, shaking his head. "I disagree."

I watched him walk towards the kitchen. This was _not_ going to be a good day. These boys hated Tessa's guts before they had even met her; before they had even known that she was residing in La Push. Boy, were they in for the shock of their life.

The kitchen in my aunt and uncle's house was chaos to say the least. Everywhere I looked pots and pans and baked goods were covering countertops, shelves, and the large kitchen table. Taylor was right; Aunt Rachel must have been up for _hours_.

"Elissa, sweetheart," Rachel cried. She discarded her oven mitts and hurried over to hug me tightly. I squeezed her back.

"Honey, I have missed you so much," she exclaimed, holding me at arm's length. "It's so _good_ to have you home."

I smiled in appreciation, blushing at her enthusiasm. "Thanks, Auntie Rachel, I'm glad to be back, too."

Uncle Paul joined us several moments later. His eyes lit up at all the food and he snuck a freshly iced cupcake, popping it in his mouth in a single bite.

"Taylor, don't you go eating all the food that your mother has been slaving away at all morning," Paul said sternly, trying to hide his smirk.

"I saw you sneak that cupcake, Paul," Rachel said, facing the oven.

Jeremy snickered.

Uncle Paul was still grinning, though. "Lissa made me do it."

I gaped, crossing my arms. "I _so_ did _not_."

He responded by softly hugging me to his chest, smoothing my hair out of my face. I leaned into him, comforted by how much he was like my own father.

I froze, my eyes going wide. "Can I borrow your phone?" I asked suddenly. "My parents are going to be wondering where I am."

Taylor raised his cell phone in the air. "Got you covered, kid," he told me. "I texted JJ about fifteen minutes ago."

I sighed with relief. At least one of us was thinking clearly.

Uncle Paul looked down at me suddenly. "You are absolutely freezing, my dear."

I blushed. "Yeah, I was kind of sitting out in the rain this morning."

I received a very stern look in response. "I know, I know," I said. "Not my best idea."

"That's for sure," Jeremy said through a mouthful of muffin.

Paul's hands rubbed my back. "Tay, do me a favour and go grab one of Andy's sweatshirts from his closet. Liss can't sit in these wet clothes all day."

My face flushed again. "It's okay—"

"Don't be ridiculous," Rachel murmured, brushing my forehead with the back of her hand as she passed by with a tin of cookies.

My eyes suddenly went to an empty pan on the counter. I had an idea.

"Wait," I told Taylor, who was making his way to Andy's room. "Auntie Rachel, can I borrow that pot and a spoon?"

Five minutes later, I tip-toed up the stairs towards Andy's bedroom, pot and wooden spoon in hand, a smile on my face. I knew Bronson had slept here last night and I owed the two of them a real _loud_ awakening.

I pushed open Andy's bedroom door, wincing as it momentarily groaned. I had nothing to worry about, I realized, as I peered in the room. Both boys were passed out cold, snoring with their mouths wide open. Andy lay stretched out sideways across his bed, while Bronson occupied the little space on his bedroom floor that wasn't covered with clothes.

This was priceless.

I took a deep breath, giggling under my breath before I slammed the spoon against the pot about eight times, happy as the sound shrilled through the almost silent house.

Both boys shot up like cannons, their eyes and hair both wild.

I crowed with delight, doubling over in laughter.

The next thing I knew I was being held upside down in the air by Andy while Bronson tickled my sides. I giggled breathlessly, pushing weakly at his hands as he continued his torture. All the blood rushed to my head and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to feel too dizzy.

"Okay, okay, let her breathe," Bronson said, chuckling.

Andy proceeded to gently toss me onto his bed, shaking his head with mock disappointment. "You've been corrupted," he said sadly.

I was still laughing. "Yeah, by _you_," I cried.

Bronson rubbed his eyes, yawning. "Was that totally necessary, sis? That was the best sleep I've had in months."

I shrugged, sitting up. "You said you would make it up to me. Consider it all made up."

Bronson turned to stare at Andy. "It's your fault she's like this."

Andy didn't look too upset by his accusation. "Whatever," he said. "Lissy-loo was there something you needed besides nearly giving me a heart attack."

I realized he was implying that my wet clothing was dripping all over his haphazard bed. "Oh, yeah, I need a sweatshirt. I got stuck in the rain."

A few moments later a sweatshirt was thrown at my face.

I went across the hall to the bathroom to peel my soaked shirt off and pulled on Andy's thick La Push High sweatshirt, curling my hands inside the sleeves. I opened the door to find just Bronson waiting for me. I wasted no time in all at throwing myself into his arms.

"I missed you so much," I whispered tearfully.

His arms were tight around me. "You're not allowed to fight with me anymore," he murmured, pressing his lips to my forehead. "I forbid it. I wish I could take it all back."

I flicked his nose, wiping a tear off my cheek. "All is forgiven, Bronnie."

He just hugged me close again.

It didn't take very long for everyone to start arriving and by nine thirty, the house was packed. I helped Auntie Rachel distribute all the wonderful things she cooked, before I joined all the other kids in the living room.

Noah pulled me down next to him so I was almost in his lap. He had arrived a half-hour ago, but I hadn't gotten a chance to spend any time with him yet. I felt his lips press to the base of my neck as his arms came around me. I shuddered, smiling.

A pillow bounced off the side of my head.

Bronson shot me a warning look. I stuck my tongue out at him.

As I leaned back against Noah, I was relieved at how nice it was to be home. I had missed everyone so much and I never wanted to leave La Push ever again.

"So, you guys have some creepy vampire living with you now?" Kevin asked in disbelief.

Apparently they had been informed last night by Connor.

All eyes went to me.

"Oh yeah," I said, nodding. "She's just_ great_."

Bronson shook his head. "Of all the things our parents could have kept from us, this had to be it."

I agreed whole-heartedly.

The front door to the house opened and in walked my parents, JJ, and the creepy vampire herself. It was hard not to notice that fact that all the wolves sitting near me stiffened without being able to help it. The noise level in the room went down an octave.

Dad walked by me, kissing the top of my head and mussing Noah's hair. He leaned down to hug Bronson, telling him how happy he was to see him. It was a sweet moment.

Bronson stood up suddenly. "JJ!"

I watched with a smile on my face as my brothers quickly embraced each other, shoving one another teasingly. It made me feel a whole lot better seeing them get along again.

As JJ caught sight of Allie and disappeared in her direction, Bronson turned to embrace Mom, but froze.

His eyes were zeroed in on Tessa, who was clutching my mother's hand tightly. His mouth was agape, his hands stretched slightly forward in her direction. Neither one of them moved for a very long moment.

And then, the smile on Bronson's face couldn't have gotten any bigger.

Tessa was tucked behind my mother.

Noah cursed, his hands clutching my wrists to keep me in place.

The room went _silent_.

"Hot damn," Kevin whispered.

It didn't take anyone very long to realize what had just happened.

Bronson had just imprinted on Tessa.

* * *

**DUN DUN DUHHHH. Who saw that coming? Review and a new chapter will be up sometime next week!**


	24. Chapter 21 - Should Have Known

**LOVE how much you guys reviewed from the last update. It means everything to know how much you all truly enjoy reading this story. Now, I should probably warn you all that after this chapter, there are only five chapters left until the end of this story. After this story, I will begin my new imprint story, which I have already started writing :) It's not a sequel or associated any way with Acceptance Is Key, but it IS another second generation imprint story that I am loving writing. Now, that doesn't mean that there couldn't be a sequel to this story in the future but as of right now, the next story will be my next second generation imprint story. I do hope that you guys read the new one (which I will post once this story is finished) and I hope you love just as much or more than Acceptance is Key. Thank you all for your support and please continue to review. Here's the next chapter! Another important cliffy ;) just because I know how much you all love them!**

* * *

I slammed my locker door, spinning the lock, and hefted my heavy textbooks in my arms. I hurried down the nearly deserted hallway, speed-walking as I glanced at my watch. Two minutes—I could definitely still make it to my math class.

I was _never _late. But somehow, my alarm hadn't gone off at the correct time this morning. Instead of waking me up at 6:30, like it did _every_ school morning, it went off at 7:15, leaving me with a good twenty minutes to get ready.

I had my suspicions to who could have changed the alarm and they started and ended with stupid _Tessa Bradshaw_.

It was bad enough the girl was living in my house, but now, my parents have informed me that she will be sharing my _bedroom_. I mean, hadn't they thought of that _before_ she came here? We lived in a four bedroom house—_obviously_ there wasn't going to be a whole lot of extra room.

I zipped in the classroom door twenty-eight seconds before the bell rang. I hurried to the back of the room, sliding into my seat next to Noah, flushed and out of breath. I tossed my books onto my desk in frustration.

Kevin turned around and his eyes widened. "Whoa, new look, Liss?"

I scowled, glancing down at myself. I had thrown on a pair of capris yoga pants and a flouncy, quarter-sleeved grey shirt, not really having much time to find anything better. I had corralled my long curly hair up into a high ponytail and had barely had enough time to put on some mascara before JJ threatened to leave without me.

Noah thumped him with a frown. "I think she looks beautiful."

I blushed, leaning over to kiss his cheek softly.

"Mr. Thail, please turn around and face the front so I can begin distributing tests," Ms. Martin demanded, standing at the front of the room with her hands on her hips.

Kevin rolled his eyes in my direction before he spun in his seat, sending the teacher a faux-apologetic smile.

I was about to tease Kevin for getting in trouble when I thought a little more about what our teacher said. I slowly spun in my seat to watch Ms. Martin pass out calculators and thick bundles of paper.

"Did she say _test_?" I whispered to Noah.

I had barely had time to finish the folder full of homework she had given me to do while I was in Alaska. I knew for a fact that Noah hadn't done more than a few pages. We were definitely both screwed for this.

At the end of class, I handed in my test with a small smile, knowing my GPA was about to take a major nosedive. It was too bad teachers didn't take supernatural situations as an excuse, because then I would have been off the hook.

And people thought _regular_ teenagers had it hard.

Noah and Kevin were waiting for me outside the door, both wearing grim looks on their faces.

"Did we even learn that shit?" Kevin asked once I joined them. "I didn't know anything."

I shrugged, pulling my textbooks to my chest. My parents were going to _kill_ me when they saw that mark.

Noah wrapped an arm around my waist, tugging me to his side and out of my reverie. "You okay, baby?"

I sighed heavily. "Just a rough couple of days."

Kevin winced. "How's it going in the _love_ shack?"

Apparently, that was the new nickname the pack had proclaimed for my house. I had to admit, they weren't far off the marker. Everyone in my house had imprinted, now.

"It's just _great_," I said.

My parents were more than ecstatic that Bronson had finally imprinted. They were also relieved that Tessa had someone who could look out for her, make sure that she didn't get into any trouble. In their eyes, in was a win-win situation.

I didn't feel the same way.

Bronson had been totally against Tessa coming to live with us when he had first heard about her. He had practically hated her. Then, _boom_, he imprints and suddenly there's nothing wrong with the fact that she's imposing on our family. There's nothing wrong the fact that she punched me in the face and nearly gave me brain damage by doing so.

And Tessa was just a totally different person. She smiled more, she laughed more, and she didn't try to plot anyone's death by just staring at them. Well, you know, except for me. She still did everything in her power to make my life miserable.

I didn't trust her.

"Liss?" Noah murmured. "We're gonna be late for gym."

I sighed, realizing we were at my locker and Kevin had already headed to his next class. I quickly spun the lock, shoving my books inside and grabbing my gym bag. I grabbed Noah's hand and led him towards the gym without a word.

We played volleyball, something I was unusually happy to be playing if it meant smashing the ball while pretending it was Tessa's face. The unfortunate thing was that Noah had been placed on the opposite team, along with Andy. And I was stuck with Megan, Tanner's imprint.

The girl still didn't like me; almost as much as Tessa didn't. Each time we were in the same room, she would just _stare_ at me, like I didn't actually exist. I didn't understand how everyone else had no problems trusting me, but she just couldn't accept that I wasn't out to kill everyone in sight. Her boyfriend was a werewolf but she couldn't handle being near a half vampire-half human.

It was frustrating.

And poor Tanner was stuck in the middle. He was close with Noah, I knew this, but I had barely ever talked to him. He didn't want to betray his imprint by becoming friends with me, so we didn't associate with each other. I understood, I really did, but it definitely didn't make things so easy when it came to family gatherings.

"Heads up, Elissa," a boy named Aaron on my team called.

The volleyball was hurtling towards me at an alarming rate. I waited until it was close enough and gave it a soft bump back towards the net, knowing I couldn't use too much unnatural strength when I was playing school sports. Not like I had a whole lot anyways. I assumed that Andy and Noah were having a lot more of a difficult time than I was.

"That's game," our gym teacher shouted, blowing his whistle. "Switch sides and we'll go again."

I sighed. God was gym class repetitive. I followed my teammates around the net, pulling the edge of my hunter green shirt down as I walked. I didn't like gym; it gave all the other kids a chance to stare at me, watch me. I kept my eyes down, watching my shoes as I walked across the floor.

A shoulder bumped mine. It was barely a bump, but scared me nonetheless.

"Watch where you're going, _vampire_."

My eyes snapped up to see Megan glaring at me, before she turned around and continued to the other side of the gym. Part of me was relieved that it was her and not someone else, and part of me wished she would just give it a rest.

Noah's angry eyes were on her retreating figure as he walked past me. His warm hand squeezed mine. I smiled, despite the fact that if Megan had spoken just a _smidge_ louder, everyone in the gym would have heard her.

I suddenly realized that my life was much more complicated than I had ever thought.

I couldn't have been more relieved when gym class ended about forty-five minutes later. I quickly went into the change room, wanting nothing more than to change out of my sweaty shirt and shorts and go to the cafeteria for lunch, where I knew a turkey sandwich was just _waiting_ to be crammed down my throat. I hadn't had time for breakfast this morning either.

I was applying some lip gloss in the small mirror in the change room when I heard a phone vibrate somewhere close to me. I looked down to see a silver Blackberry flashing at me. I froze. Hadn't I left my cell phone in my bag? What was it doing here?

I picked it up and scrolled through the messages. This wasn't my phone. This was _Megan's_. My fingers trembled. If she caught me with her phone she'd surely cause a whole ruckus. I was about to put it down, not wanting to invade her privacy no matter how much we didn't get along, when I found something rather interesting.

In her messages tab was a folder labelled "_Vampire's Number_". I glanced around; making sure no one was in the room before I pressed the button to open the folder.

What I found was absolutely not something I had ever expected to see.

I should have known.

* * *

**Hmm...what do you think she found?! REVIEW please :):):) I am going on vacation for most of next week, so I won't be updating again until next weekend. Thanks for your patience!**


End file.
